Toxic Series 1: Gentle
by shadowglove
Summary: The thing that made an isolated, scarred ten year old Chloe notice fourteen year old Sam was the fact that he was gentle, incredibly so. She'd never seen someone that gentle before, hadn't realized someone like him existed. Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

**A/N: In this universe NOTHING supernatural ever happened to the Winchester family (kinda like in the universe shown in "What Is And What Should Never Be") so the family are all alive and living in Lawrence. And, of course, NOTHING is canon in Smallville.**

**WARNING: Somewhat dark, mentions child abuse**

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The ten year old hesitated at the door.

Pulling a strand of light blonde hair out of her face and behind her ear, she gazed at the boy behind the counter wearing the green apron. He was a couple of year older than her, fourteen years old to be precise (she'd heard him telling a customer that once and it'd stuck), and while Lois assured her that he was lanky and geeky, Chloe liked him. Sam Winchester was nice to her, even when everyone else ignored her, and she couldn't help but feel drawn to him. Of course he only saw her as some little brat whom he amused, but still, she appreciated the attention. He-he was probably the only person other than Lois and Lana who paid attention to her and didn't expect something from her in return.

That was-refreshing.

"You going to come in or are you going to run away like you did last time?" An amused voice asked.

Chloe looked up at him and blinked, surprised that he'd noticed she was there.

The young girl hesitated, knowing she'd be in trouble if they discovered she wasn't home, but she knew what would happen to her if she _was_ there, and she preferred being locked in the small room under the staircase to that. She knew that Lois and Lana were in their rooms, knew that they would try to cover for her if they came around asking for her whereabouts, and she felt bad for putting them in that position, but she just couldn't stay in that house all day.

She never saw anyone else.

They couldn't go to the regular school, _they'd_ told them that the school people wouldn't understand them or how special they were.

The three girls were important, they'd been told, and they needed to understand that they weren't like other people.

They didn't need other people.

All they needed were each other.

And _them_.

"You going to say anything to me today?" Samuel Winchester gave her an encouraging smile as he finished tending to a customer before turning to her. "Like your name?"

She hung back, a little panicked.

Her name?

She couldn't tell him!

She'd get into so much trouble!

The girl rubbed her arms, which were covered with the long sleeves which hid the ugly marks on her arms from the last time she'd rebelled and had been forced to hold out her arms as he brought down the belt on her limbs.

They were doing this for her own good.

She-she needed to be more obedient.

She was making them do this.

She was the bad one.

It was all her fault.

She-she needed to appreciate all they were doing for her-for Lois-and for Lana.

"How about a bribe?" Sam asked, holding out a lollipop to her. "I'll give you this if you'll tell me your name."

She looked towards the door.

He must have sensed her fear because he backed up. "How about a word then? Just one."

Her green gaze returned to him slowly.

Surely one word couldn't bring about her downfall, could it?

And she was curious as to what a lollipop tasted like.

She'd asked _her_ about it once, when she'd read about a girl eating one, and she'd been told it was junk that rotted one's brain-and that Chloe's brain was too important to be risked.

It'd made her even more curious about the candy.

She took a step towards him, and another, eyeing the wrapped treat.

He smiled, dimples showing.

She paused and looked up at him, eyes wide.

She'd never seen dimples that deep before.

"I like your dimples." Her eyes widened even more as she realized she'd said that out loud.

He chuckled. "Uh, thank you. Never heard that one before."

She looked towards the door, so embarrassed.

His smile drained from his face as he noticed the expression on her face. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

Oh, she knew that.

She'd noticed him long before he'd ever known she existed, and she had noticed him because he walked passed her home every day to go to work, and she'd seen him bring scraps for the cat in the alley that had just had kittens. That cat was feral and wouldn't let anyone near her or her babies, but whenever she saw Sam she'd rush to him, purring, rubbing up against him as he gave her the food.

That was what had intrigued Chloe.

She'd never seen someone that gentle, hadn't realized someone like that existed.

"I'm Sam." He bent on his knees, eyeing her carefully, as if _she_ were the hurt, feral kitten he was trying to tame. "What's your name?"

She backed away and twirled on her heel, running away.

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She managed to slip into the backyard and pick up the college book on Physics they'd given her for light reading, when they came looking for her. The blonde looked up at Ma and Pa, as they insisted they be called, as they stood over her, smiling in satisfaction as they saw what she was doing. Ma was shorter than Pa, with red hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. Sometimes Chloe could genuinely believe that Ma cared if they were okay, but sometimes there was that coldness in those eyes that made her wary. But if anything she trusted Ma more, because she kept Pa at bay. He'd tried to touch them once, when they were younger, and when Ma was finished with him he'd been in the hospital for a month. He hadn't dared do anything again.

Ma had told them that if he ever tried anything again, they'd get a new Pa, and this one would 'go away'.

Chloe wondered where he'd go.

"Hello Chloe." Ma knelt to her knees, smiling as she noticed how far Chloe had gotten on the 800+ paged book. "You're almost halfway finished. I gave you this yesterday."

Chloe nodded. "It's interesting."

Ma smiled, reaching for a strand of blonde hair and tucking it behind Chloe's ear. "Good girl."

Chloe smiled awkwardly at the redhead.

If she'd known that Chloe could've finished the book in less than an hour if she'd truly been interested in it, Ma would have been less pleased with her.

"How about you try and move something?" Ma tried coaxing. "Maybe this time you'll be able to. You don't want Lana to win all of the award points, do you?"

Chloe ducked her gaze, beginning to tremble, feeling sick.

She couldn't do this.

She tried.

She _did_, but it didn't _work_.

Ma took the book from Chloe's hands and held it in her own. "C'mon, Chloe, push it out of my hand without touching it. C'mon, you can do it. You just don't have motivation."

Chloe looked up at the book in anger.

She knew it wouldn't move, and when it didn't, Ma wouldn't be happy anymore.

It was all Lana's fault.

She was so incredibly good at this, with her bursts of pinkness that made Ma and Pa think that Lois and Chloe could do the exact same things.

And she was mad at Lois too, because while she couldn't push things without touching them, she could do other things.

Things Chloe couldn't do.

The girl hugged herself, closing her eyes tightly.

She didn't want to be beaten again.

She didn't want to disappoint them and thus force them to punish her.

If she could just _do something_, if she would stop being so defective, stop disappointing them then they'd stop beating her.

She needed to behave.

She needed to be a good girl.

And she was trying.

She _was_.

Ma and Pa weren't her real parents, but at least they still kept her around unlike her real ones.

If she disappointed them more, would they make her 'go away' too?

Her trembling grew.

"C'mon Chloe." Ma's voice was tinted with annoyance. "_Do_ it Chloe. _Do_ it."

"I'm _trying_." Her voice croaked as she opened her eyes, glaring holes into the book.

Nothing.

"_I'm trying_." She pleaded for Ma to believe her, to understand.

She didn't mean to be a bad girl.

Didn't mean to disappoint them.

"Don't make me go away. _Please_. I'm trying. _I'm trying_."

Ma watched her before sighing and giving her a little smile, reaching over and placing her hand on Chloe's head, ignoring the flinch the child gave, having expected a slap. "Chloe, you're not going anywhere. Your brain-you have the potential to be the greatest of any of the children we've raised, but you just aren't _trying_."

"I _am_." She looked up at Ma, tears welling in her eyes. "I _promise_ I'm _trying_!"

The woman nodded. "Maybe you just need more."

Chloe winced and looked away.

She'd already had so much more than the others.

They'd stopped getting them years ago, from the time they were five.

She'd have five extra years of it.

And she hated it.

"You're a good girl, aren't you, Chloe?" Ma asked.

Chloe nodded mechanically, not looking up.

"Then you won't fight us, right?"

Chloe's bottom lips trembled violently as a lone tear made its way down her cheek. "It _hurts_."

"I know baby." Ma caressed her hair. "But once you start doing something you won't need it anymore. If anything, the pain might motivate you to be a good girl like Lois and Lana."

Chloe hated the girls.

She loved them.

But she hated them too.

If they weren't so good she wouldn't look like such a bad girl.

"Come on, Chloe." Ma reached for her hand. "Lets go."

Chloe wanted to struggle, wanted to cry and beg, but she was already being a bad girl, and if she misbehaved more it'd be the belt, or the stick, or maybe even the spiked belt.

She let herself be taken inside the house.

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Her throat was hoarse from the screaming.

Lois and Lana sat on the edge of the bed, the twelve and ten year old both eyeing her in the utmost worry.

"You need to do something, Chloe." Lois whispered, eyes suspiciously moist as she rubbed Chloe's feverish forehead with the wet cloth. "They're going to continue doing that until you do."

"I know." Chloe's voice was hoarse. "But I'm _trying_, Lo. I'm _trying_ and _nothing happens_."

"We believe you." Lana quickly agreed, pulling the blanket over her when she noticed her shivering. "But Chloe, you _need_ to do _something_. I heard them talking. They're going to up your dosage."

Chloe's eyes widened in horror. "_No_."

Her green eyes went to her arm, were the puncture wound was still red and swollen.

She couldn't take it if they injected her with more of that green thing.

Her veins would burst.

Her heart would too.

_No!_

She needed to do something, she needed to do _something_ worthy of the collars Lana and Lois wore.

That was her worry long after Lois and Lana had fallen asleep on her bed.

She _needed_ to do something.

Move something.

Burn something.

Even if she _tricked_ them she needed to do _something!_

_Anything_!

Her clock alarmed softly.

Chloe looked up and despite the pain in her body, she slipped out of bed and went to the window, looking down at the dark of the night.

At the street.

And there he was, Sam, walking with a paper bag in his hand.

He walked into the alley and the cat and her kittens all came rushing out to greet them. He grinned and laughed, his dimples dark, as he bent to his knees and caressed them before emptying the contents of the paper bag for them to eat.

He sat down on the dirty ground, back against the wall, and played with them awhile.

The kittens were tiny, but they didn't fear him because he was gentle.

Always gentle.

_So_ gentle.

Chloe hugged herself, tears coming to her eyes.

If only for tonight, she couldn't watch his gentleness.

The blonde climbed back into bed, and softly cried herself to sleep.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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She didn't sneak out for two weeks.

Instead, she concentrated on trying to do things.

Anything.

But nothing seemed to work.

At least Ma seemed to have realized that Chloe was putting her all into trying to _do_ something, because the dosage wasn't raised, and she actually spent time at the house trying to help her, giving her different tests. Of course, there was annoyance in those eyes when nothing happened, but the woman didn't beat Chloe. Instead she'd just tap her head and tell her they just hadn't found what she could do, but if the blonde continued this dedicated they definitely would.

"Maybe I'm not special." Chloe admitted as she sat, defeated once more by one of the random tests Ma had come up with her to do. "Maybe I'm just ordinary."

Ma sat down next to her, snorting. "Kid, I've gone over your examinations myself. You are special. Your brain has developed, evolved, unlike anything we've ever seen. And your body, your DNA, your _heart_...it's _different_, Chloe."

She looked up, confused.

Ma leaned over and poked Chloe on her chest, roughly over where her heart would be. "The serum is injected into your blood, which is pumped into the heart."

She knew this.

"The serum, it's in your heart, it's in your blood, in your muscles, in your tissues and organs." Ma announced. "Your DNA code has changed. Just like Lois and Lana. But you're just not _activating_ your potential."

"But I'm trying." She protested. "I _really_ am. I _swear_."

"Lana started exhibiting her telekinesis at age four." Ma reminded her. "Lois started showing signs of her strength at five."

Chloe hung her head, knowing what was coming.

"You're _ten_, Chloe. _Ten_. You've had more serum in you than _anyone_ in our..._family. _And _no one_ has gone this long without discovering what their ability is."

She flinched. "_I'm trying_."

"Being intelligent is _not_ enough, Chloe." Ma turned to her, serious. "You're no use to us if all you can do is think more than the rest of us."

She was scared.

"You're going to make me go away."

Ma paused. "Not...exactly. Not in the way I use that term at least." Her eyes were cold. "But if you're no use to us I _will_ send you to another unit to see if _they _can do something with you. Your..._grandfather_...has ordered that if something doesn't happen soon you be separated from the girls and kept in isolation until you do."

Away from Lois?

Chloe felt sick at her stomach.

Lois was her only family.

They were cousins, from what Lois remembered Ma and Pa had come for them at their true parent's homes when Chloe was only two. Chloe didn't understand how Lois could remember this since she was only four at the time, but the brunette did. She said that their parents had kissed them goodbye and let them be taken.

"Think about that, Chloe." And with that, Ma was gone.

Soon Chloe heard the sound of the car, and knew they were gone for the day once more.

She got up and escaped the back yard.

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"Hey." Sam smiled brightly at her. "I thought you wouldn't come anymore and that I'd scared you off last time."

She'd entered the shop before he noticed her, and had spent some time eyeing him from behind a stack of something called _potato chips_. The blonde looked up at him, down at the chips, and refrained from asking him why the bag was so light since potatoes were heavy. She would probably sound stupid to him, and she didn't want that.

The store was empty now that the customer had just left, and Sam turned to her, smile calming as he held out a lollipop to her. "Come on, I owe you this for last time. You said more than one word, right? It was our deal."

She hesitated, staying put.

His grin didn't falter like Ma's or Pa's would have if she'd hesitated to do as they said. "I know your mother probably told you not to take candy from strangers, but trust me, this isn't one of those times." he paused. "But other than me, _really_ don't take candy from strangers, okay?"

She frowned somewhat, tilting her head.

What was he talking about?

Ma had never told her anything like that.

Then again, Ma didn't realize that Chloe actually escaped the house sometimes so she probably hadn't felt the need to tell her something that apparently mothers worldwide told their daughters.

And what was wrong with candy if it was given by strangers?

Did it rot your brain even faster?

"I'd go to give it to you, but you'd probably bolt for the door again." Sam seemed to be talking to himself, thoughtful. "Hmmm." His eyes then lit up and he placed the candy on the counter top before backing away.

She was intrigued by this tactic.

He figured his presence intimidated her and was removing it so she could have the candy.

He'd done this with the cat in the alley before it'd become tame.

The blonde licked her lips and went for it, grabbing the candy and pulling away quickly.

She'd seen the cat do that to the chicken those first few encounters too.

He chuckled, leaning against the other end of the counter, folding his arms over his chest.

Chloe looked up at him and then down at the candy, fiddling with the wrapper, before finally managing to tear it off of the sticky thing. The blonde hesitated, wondering if it would hurt when it rotted her brain.

Then again, noting could hurt like the injections.

"So you just...lick it?" She asked, feeling stupid. "Or is there something else you have to do?"

A troubled look came over his expressions. "You've never had a lollipop before?"

She felt stupid, looking away.

Sam continued to frown. "Yeah, you lick it."

The blonde gave a tentative lick...and then froze...eyes widening as she looked at the candy.

It was..._amazing_.

It was unlike anything she'd ever tasted before!

If _this_ was what having her brain rot tasted like-what did it say about her that she _liked_ it?

Sam's expression darkened even more at the obvious surprise on her face. "You really _haven't_ had a lollipop before, have you?"

But she didn't answer, licking the sweet nearly desperately.

It was _delicious_.

Sam leaned back and used his hands to pull him up until he was sitting on the counter as he observed her. "You know, you still haven't told me your name."

She ignored him him, gaze on her feet, unable to stop licking.

His head tilted to the right. "You must live close by if your parents let you out by yourself to the store." She continued to remain silent, although she raised her gaze to look at him.

"Do you have any sisters or brothers?"

She leaned against the wall and lowered to the ground, sitting and looking up at him in silence.

He didn't get annoyed.

She-_why_ wasn't he getting annoyed at her?

Why wasn't he screaming for her to answer him?

"I have a brother."

She blinked, interested.

Was that like having a sister?

Or was it much different?

"He's older than me." Sam didn't seem bothered that she wasn't talking, instead smiling as he sat on the counter. "His name is Dean, and he's an utter _jerk_. He's in his last year in high school and wants to be a firefighter."

Chloe frowned.

His brother had powers over fire?

So that meant he was special too.

She looked up into Sam's face.

Was _he_ special as well?

Or was he like Chloe?

The unspecial one in a house of power?

_Maybe being gentle is his ability_.

She kinda liked the thought of that.

It was a beautiful ability.

Completely confusing for her-but beautiful nonetheless.

"Dad wants him to help him in Winchester's Mechanics-that's my dad's garage-but while Dean loves cars he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life working on _other_ people's cars." Sam was getting into his monologue, although he kept an eye on her reactions, as if gauging if he were boring her or not.

He really couldn't bore her even if he tried.

She didn't know half of what he was talking about, but she listened intently.

"Mom doesn't want Dean to be a firefighter, she's scared that something might happen to him."

"Fire's dangerous." She blinked, once more having spoken without intending to.

Sam grinned brightly at the sound of her voice. "It is, isn't it?"

She just looked at him.

He chuckled, continuing saying what he was before her interruption. "I worry about the jerk myself, but if its what he wants I'm going to support his decision."

Chloe wondered what 'jerk' was.

Was it another word for 'brother'?

Like 'sibling'?

Chloe felt frustrated.

She could read and understand college level physics-but she was so ignorant about things that seemed so common day knowledge for these other people.

"I like working on cars." Sam was saying. "It relaxes me."

She frowned.

Relaxed him?

Ma said they would 'relax' after training, so he was obviously training as well.

Her eyes widened.

Was he special too?

Ma and Pa said that her, Lois and Lana were special, that there were almost no one else in the world like them.

So why was it that Sam and his fire fighting brother were special too?

Were _their_ Ma and Pa training them _too_?

But if so-_why _was he allowed outside to mingle with people and she wasn't?

Was it because he was a boy?

The door opened, and a beautiful blonde entered, smiling at Sam.

Chloe frowned.

For some reason, she didn't like the woman smiling at him.

"Hey Sam," she leaned over the counter and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Hey." He smiled back.

The female turned to Chloe. "Who is this?"

Sam tilted his head as he returned his attention to Chloe. "I don't really know. She won't say more than five words to me per visit." He grinned, amused. "I think its that 'playing hard to get' thing that I've heard women do." He chuckled. "Apparently they start young."

The blonde slapped Sam's shoulder playfully with a grin before smiling at Chloe. "Hello there, my name is Mary. What's yours?"

Chloe felt that panic grow in her chest as the female came towards her.

"_Mom_." Sam's voice stopped the woman straight. "She's-uh, you might want to give her some space."

Mary was watching Chloe too, a troubled look on her face. "Don't worry honey, we wouldn't hurt you."

Chloe looked between them.

Had Sam said 'mom'?

Was she his real mother or a Ma?

Chloe continued to look between them.

They looked similar, and were watching her with nearly identical expressions on their faces.

She gulped.

Too many people looking at her...she felt...claustrophobic.

She dropped the lollipop.

Her eyes widened in fear as it hit the ground.

He'd given that to her and she'd been careless.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was breathy and her breathing hard.

He'd be angry.

He-.

"I'm _so_ sorry!" She was trembling, looking up at them and to the door.

"Hey, _hey_!" Sam looked at her, oddly, hands up in the air for some reason. "Calm down. It was an accident. You-you didn't mean to do that. It's okay."

Tears welled up in her eyes and she clenched her fists to try and keep them from shaking so visibly. "I-I didn't mean to-it just _slipped_."

Tears were welling up in Mary's eyes as she brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh _honey_..."

Mary moved as if to go to her.

And Chloe's survival instincts took over.

She ran away.

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That evening she didn't have any appetite.

"Eat." Pa ordered.

Chloe shovel the food into her mouth and swallowed obediently.

Ma watched her closely.

Lana and Lois shared nervous looks.

"What's the difference between a brother and a sister?" Chloe looked up from her plate.

Ma raised an eyebrow. "A brother is a boy."

That's what she'd thought.

"And boys have dicks." Pa added.

Ma sent him a glare.

He concentrated on his food.

Lana looked around, pouting. "What's a..dick?"

"Nothing relevant to your studies." Ma replied. "Lana, pass me the salt."

The girl nodded, her eyes bleeding pink as she moved her fingers (also glowing pink)...and the salt shaker floated into Ma's hand.

Ma smiled. "Good girl."

Chloe ducked her head.

Lana was always the good girl.

"Do you have any _other_ unusual questions to ask?" Ma raised an eyebrow at Chloe.

Chloe should remain silent.

She _knew_ it.

But she couldn't.

"What's a...jerk...when applied to a person and not to an action?" She kept her head down. "I-I heard some people walking by the house saying that one of them was a jerk and I didn't know what it meant."

Pa snorted.

Ma sprinkled salt onto her vegetables. "A jerk is a very unpleasant person."

"Oh." Chloe mumbled.

"_Eat_." Pa snapped.

She shoved another forkful of vegetables into her mouth.

Pa was a _jerk_.

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**Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville/Supernatural**

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Sam was looking worried.

As Chloe continued to spy on him day by day as he passed by her window, the blonde noticed that every day he seemed paler and distracted. He seemed to be very worried about something, and even looking around him as if he were searching for something. He'd nearly caught her staring at him a couple of times but she'd ducked in time, and by the time she'd looked back he'd be preoccupied with the cat and her kittens. But even while he was with them he seemed distracted-his mind elsewhere.

She wondered what had him like that.

"You watch him."

Chloe gasped and flung herself away from the window, turning to see Ma leaning with her hip against the doorframe, bathed in darkness. "Don't think I don't know that you sneak away sometimes, Chloe. And I know you sneak to a shop to see that boy." She entered the room, face emotionless as she went to the window and watched as he fed the growing kittens and mother cat. "You can't keep doing this, Chloe. If your grandfather finds out..."

"I haven't-I haven't said anything." Chloe whispered.

"I know. I've had you watched." Ma nodded, eyes still on the boy in question. "This is normal, you know? Interest in the opposite sex? But Chloe, you need to stop." She finally turned to Chloe, eyes narrowed. "You're not _like_ other girls."

"I'm special." Chloe hung her head, repeating what she'd heard all her life.

"You and your sisters were genetically bred to evolve, Chloe." Ma told her. "Because your grandfather needs you to be different, he _needs_ you to do your best."

She looked away.

"You can't-have a puppy crush on the cute boy next door." Ma leaned down and placed her hands hard on Chloe's shoulders. "Your life will be to serve your grandfather's will. To help him. And if you are to breed, it will be with another like you, so your grandfather can be safe and content." Her grip tightened painfully. "You don't want to let your grandfather down, do you, Chloe?"

"No."

Grandfather was scarier than Ma and Pa.

She'd only seen him once and that was one time too many.

"Good girl." Ma nodded, patting Chloe's head and turning her towards the window. "Now give that boy one more look and _never_ look for him again. Forget him. Do you hear me?"

"Yes." Chloe whispered, tears filling her eyes as she looked up out through the window, as Sam stood, sighing.

He shook his head and walked out into the street, going to cross.

He wasn't paying attention, didn't see the cars coming towards him in both lanes until they were nearly on top of him, honking loudly, light blinding him.

Chloe's eyes widened in horror, placing her hands on the window glass. _"No!_"

And suddenly, the cars flipped backwards before reaching him, resting on their tops, wheels spinning rapidly in the air.

Every metallic thing around rattled viciously, bent sharply away from him.

Sam's eyes were wide where he'd been crouched, hands on his head.

The teenaged boy stood slowly, looking around him, confused.

Chloe watched in shock.

What-what had just happened?

She looked up at Ma, to see the woman looking down at her in shock.

"Did-?" Chloe cleared her throat. "Did _you_ do that?"

"No." Ma's lips turned up in a smile. "_You_ did."

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"Come _on_ Chloe!" Ma snapped, throwing the metal bucket at her.

The girl ducked and avoided it. "I don't know how I did it!"

Ma snarled. "_Do something_!"

Chloe ducked another projectile.

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"Why won't you do it?" Lois asked, sitting up in Chloe's bed. "They'd stopped injecting you...but if you don't do it again..."

Chloe hugged her pillow to her chest. "But I don't know how I did it-or what I did."

Lana lay with her head on Lois' lap. "Maybe it's something about Sam that triggers your power."

The two other girls turned to look at her.

Lana brought her thumb to her mouth and begun to suck.

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"What if we go see the boy?" Ma asked at dinner after another unsuccessful attempt to get Chloe's powers to manifest themselves once more.

Chloe looked up from her meal, eyes wide. "To see _Sam_?"

Lois and Lana shared wide-eyed gazes.

Pa went still, face impassive.

"Yes, _Sam_." Ma nodded.

Fear coiled up in Chloe's stomach as she looked from Ma to Pa frantically.

They were going to hurt Sam.

She-she should've stayed away!

Now because of _her_-.

"Stop looking as if I told you I'm going to stab him." Ma snapped. "I just want to _meet_ him." She twirled her fork in her hand. "Say hello." A sneer appeared on those lips. "Be _neighborly_."

Chloe sunk into her chair, nausea rising in her throat.

It was worse than she'd feared.

They were going to _kill_ him.

"Fuckdammit!"

Chloe looked up in time to see the utensil jerked out of Pa's hand and zoom towards her at a frightening speed.

The girl ducked...as all of the silverware threw themselves at the wall behind her.

"I was fucking using that you cunt!" Pa snapped, standing and slamming his hand on the table.

"I'm sorry!" Chloe whimpered, trying to melt into the seat, praying to all holy that if he was going to hit her that he'd just use his hand this time.

It hurt less when it was his hand, and the marks disappeared quicker.

Pa snarled.

Ma grabbed her napkin and used it to whip his face.

"Fuckdammit!" He yelled, holding his stinging face.

Lana crawled out of her seat and onto Lois's, terror in her large hazel eyes.

"We _want_ her to use her abilities, you _numbskull_!" Ma snapped at him. "_Not_ terrify her into subconsciously locking it away again!"

"I've had enough of you, you fucking _bitch_!" Pa lunged at her.

In seconds Ma pulled out one of the knives embedded in the wall and thrusted it up into Pa's throat, before slicing it open with a swift horizontal move.

The girls screamed in terror, and Lana began to cry, clutching onto Lois as if for dear life.

Pa's body fell to the ground, and he gasped desperately for air.

"Stop your sniveling." Ma used the top of her palm to wipe at the blood that'd spurted on her. "You were going to see it sooner or later. Textbook assassination is nothing like the real thing, I'll give you that, but when I saw _my_ first murder I didn't bat an eyelash. And that's that I didn't have your _advantages_."

Chloe's chest hurt.

It was hard to breathe.

"You're going to be _no damned good_ if this is how you react." Ma kicked at Pa as he began to choke on his own blood, trying to breathe yet unable to. "He would've snuck into each of your rooms at night if I hadn't kept an eye on him. So don't cry over this ass."

The girls tried to stop.

"I SAID DON'T CRY!"

They forced themselves silent.

"Good." Ma wiped the blood on the knife off on the table cloth. "Lois, take him down to the basement."

Lois went pale.

"Lana, take everything with blood down there too."

Lana closed her eyes tightly but nodded.

"Chloe." Ma turned to her. "Grab your gloves and the cleaning equipment and put what I've taught you to use." She fixed her hair while looking at herself in the reflection of the knife. "When I come down tomorrow morning I want to find this place spic and span. I don't want any trace of blood or a crime scene. Nothing police or anyone could find and use to track us down. Do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." Lana whispered.

Lois nodded.

Chloe looked down at Pa, as he looked at her, struggling with his last breath.

The blonde screamed when Ma grabbed her arm and spun her around viciously.

"_I said DO YOU UNDERSTAND soldier_?"

Chloe looked up into those furious blue eyes. "Yes Ma."

Ma suddenly smiled brightly. "Good." She let go of the girl's arm, oblivious to the ugly, hand-shaped bruise already beginning to darken her skin as she smiled at the girls. "And when you're finished go straight to bed. We're going to the store tomorrow morning and we want to look our best, don't we?"

"Yes ma'am." They knew better than not to answer.

Ma smiled. "Good night girls." She paused before turning to Chloe. "_Someone_ is going to be getting her very own collar. Congratulations, I knew you had it in you." And with that she waltzed up the stairs.

Chloe collapsed to her knees on the ground, eyes welling up with the tears she'd had to suppress.

Lana doubled over and vomited.

Lois looked down at Pa. "_He's still alive_." She looked up at the stairs and then down at him, breathing rapidly, close to a panic attack. "I can't-he's still-I-."

Chloe reached for her hand.

Lois' bottom lip began to tremble, and she was still breathing erratically as she squeezed Chloe's hand tightly.

"I don't want to do this." Lana whispered, still bent over. "I don't _want_ to be _that_."

"We don't have a _choice_." Lois whispered, looking upstairs worriedly as she fingered her collar necklace.

"_I hate this_." Lana broke down crying, covering her face with her hands.

Lois and Chloe shared a look, and Lois went to hug the girl.

Chloe looked back at Pa.

He was staring unseeingly up at her, his body unnaturally still.

She reached over with trembling fingers and closed his eyelids shut.

She knew what the concept of death was-but this was the first time she'd actually seen it happen.

Was it always this brutal?

The textbooks made her believe so, but it was hard for her to wrap her mind around the idea of everyone in the world meeting their end in such a way.

The blonde pulled her fingers away from Pa, staring numbly at the blood covering her digits.

She wondered if a jerk was still a jerk if he was dead.

Or if he was simply dead.

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**Review?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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Chloe fingered the collar necklace that'd arrived by Federal Express early that morning.

It felt odd, loose enough that she could swallow and such, but it felt restricting.

"Stop pulling at it." Ma slapped Chloe's hand away.

It stung and she pulled back, resisting the urge to returned her hand to it and tug.

She looked down at herself, making a face.

She was wearing a black dress.

A dress.

She _never _wore a dress.

Lois and Lana were similarly dressed, wearing their own, distinct collar necklace.

Their dresses were pink (Lana) and red (Lois).

Lana seemed to enjoy her dress while Lois made faces at and fidgeted with hers.

"Now remember what I told you in the car." Ma announced, pausing outside of the store.

The girls nodded.

Chloe clenched her fist to keep from reaching for her collar once more.

"Now, let's go and say hello to Chloe's little friend." Ma smiled, entering the store.

"I don't want to do this." Chloe whimpered, hesitating outside.

"Well, I've never been inside a store before and I may never get this opportunity again." Lois fidgeted with the hem of her dress before taking in a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. "So I'm going in."

Lana reached for Chloe's hand, and together they entered together to see Ma talking to a wary Sam and a pretty young black haired girl next to him.

Sam's expression brightened when it went passed Ma and landed on Chloe. "_Hey_."

She gave him an awkward smile, keeping an eye on Ma.

"I wanted to thank you for keeping an eye on my little darling. She's told me that you have treated her nicely when she imposed herself onto you." Ma seemed like a completely different person right now as she turned to Chloe, all smiles and laughter. "Come here baby. Don't be shy."

Chloe pulled Lana along with her for emotional support.

Sam bent to his knees and looked at Chloe in the eyes. "You okay?"

She remained silent.

He frowned slightly.

Ma's hand came down on Chloe's shoulder, causing the blonde to flinch. "She's fine."

Chloe nodded.

Sam's frown grew.

"Hey." The pretty dark haired girl bent down next to Sam. "I'm Sarah, Sam's girlfriend. What's your name?"

"Her name's Chloe." Ma spoke up once more, before motioning to the other girls. "And these are her sisters, Lana, and Lois."

Lois, who was standing looking at some magazines, looked up at them. "What's a girlfriend?"

Chloe wanted to know the same thing.

Was it a girl who was a friend?

If so, she didn't understand the need to proclaim that.

Ma sent Lois a look.

Lois' gaze lowered to the magazine.

Sarah watched this and shared a quick look with Sam before Ma turned back towards them.

Lana's arms were wrapped around Chloe's arm, her hazel eyes on Sam's face, peering at him with the utmost interest.

Sam smiled at the dark haired girl. "Nice to meet you."

Lana blinked up at him.

Sam turned his smile on Chloe. "So is being silent a family thing?"

"Yes, they're very quiet." Ma nodded.

For the first time ever Chloe saw annoyance cross gentle Sam's features.

She took a cautious step back.

His expression turned apologetic.

Sarah cleared her throat. "You _must_ tell me who does your hair." She stood and smiled, drawing Ma over to the side.

"You okay?" Sam asked again.

Lana leaned closer into Chloe.

The blonde nodded mutely.

Lois sent a quick look in Ma's direction before making her way towards her 'sisters', still half hiding behind the magazine.

"Are you _really_ okay?" Sam asked, gaze tracing Chloe's features.

She nodded, feeling better now that he was gentle Sam again.

"Are you going to feed the kittens again?" Lana wanted to know.

Sam blinked and turned towards her. "You know about that?"

Lois shot Lana a look.

So did Chloe.

Lana didn't notice. "The alleyway is right across our home. Chloe watches you feed the kittens. She likes you because you're very gentle with them."

"_Lana_!" Chloe hissed in horror.

Not only had Lana let him know that Chloe was basically spying on him...but she'd given him clear directions to their home.

Ma wouldn't like that.

Sam looked between them. "It's okay. There's nothing wrong with that."

Lois ignored him, going to grab Lana's arm. "Come on. Let's go exploring the store." And with that she dragged the dark haired girl away.

Chloe watched them go, feeling vulnerable and alone.

She'd been alone with Sam before, but it hadn't been under Ma's watchful, distrustful eye.

She felt sick, her stomach rumbling.

She wanted to go.

She wanted to be far away from here.

"Do you want something?" Sam cleared his throat. "Some coke?"

"No thank you." She followed her sisters with her gaze. "I prefer not to ingest a substance that can be used to clean blood."

She then froze, going pale.

Those green eyes tore away from her sisters and turned to Sam, giving him a crooked grimace. "I read about that in a book."

The same book that told her how to get rid of all evidence of a crime she had yet to commit.

The same book whose information she'd used just the night before.

"Interesting reading material." Sam mumbled.

Chloe's gaze went to an open book and she left his side, going to look at it, recognizing it as mathematical equation. Very basic.

Very wrongly done.

She pulled the book to her and looked down at what was written there in pencil. "This is wrong."

"Huh?" Sarah asked, turning from Ma to look at her. "What do you mean it's _wrong_?"

"You used the wrong equations in this one, and here, you divided instead of multiplying." Chloe pointed to the mistakes. "And this one..._how_ did you come to this answer?"

Sarah blinked, hesitating to answer. "Honey, I don't think you know these equations. You're only like-what-eight?"

"I'm _ten_." She answered, already reaching for the pencil and eraser on the counter and beginning to erase the horrendously wrong equations.

"Hey!" Sarah exclaimed in horror.

Chloe looked up, flinching at the raised voice.

Lana twirled around at the noise and Lois dropped her magazine.

"_Sarah_." Sam snapped.

Sarah opened her mouth and then closed it, sighing. "Sorry, I forgot."

Chloe put down the book, pencil and eraser, having forgotten herself and where she was when she'd gotten distracted by the _wrongness_ on that paper. Her heart raced, beating so hard against her chest. "I'm sorry. I-I forgot-I was wrong-I shouldn't have-I-."

"No, _I'm_ sorry." Sarah gave her a reassuring smile. "Why don't you show me what you were talking about?"

Chloe shook her head, hugging herself, suddenly cold.

Sarah went to her knees and reached for Chloe's hand.

Chloe flinched away from the touch.

Sarah's didn't notice though, her gaze was horrified and on Chloe's wrist.

Chloe followed her gaze down and realized that her dress' sleeve had ridden up, revealing the ugly, purple mark on her skin left from where Ma had grabbed her the night before. The young girl hurriedly lowered her sleeve and sent Ma a terrified look, feeling like she could cry of relief when she realized that Ma had been eyeing Lana and Lois at that moment and hadn't noticed.

Sarah shared a look with Sam, before returning her gaze to Chloe and smiling. "Really honey, show me what you were saying about the equations. _Please_."

Chloe hesitated, eyeing the door, feeling suffocated as she rubbed her wrist over her sleeve. "I want to go."

"You don't have to-." Sam started.

"I want to _go_." She looked towards Ma, nervous.

Ma had her hands on Lois' and Lana's shoulders. "Is it out of your system now?"

She nodded vigorously and pushed passed them, feeling the walls of the place closing in on her. She raced out of the store and gasped in air, desperately tugging at her collar, needing to breathe, but the collar wouldn't move. Her movements grew more desperate.

"I said _stop it_." Ma hissed as she hurried out at her, with Lois and Lana next to her.

"I can't _breathe_." Chloe clawed at her neck, tugging desperate at the collar. "_I can't breathe!_"

Lois and Lana looked at each other.

Ma let go of them and went to Chloe, grabbing her hands and holding them still, dragging her into a dark alleyway, hiding them from view. "Don't _touch_ it."

Chloe looked up at her.

"Look at my eyes." Ma ordered.

Chloe did as told.

"Breathe in."

Chloe breathed in.

"Breathe out."

Chloe breathed out.

"Again."

Again.

"And Again."

And again.

She felt her heart rate slowing, and it was easy to breathe again.

"Stupid girl." Ma let go of her. "It was just a panic attack."

Chloe hung her head.

Even with her powers she was still messing things up and being a bad girl.

Ma had brought her to see Sam, Ma had been nice to Sam and the girl who proclaimed to be his friend.

And what had Chloe done?

She'd been bad.

Again.

If it had been Pa he'd have slapped her.

"I'm sorry."

She waited, head bowed, for the just judgment.

None came.

Chloe looked up, confused.

Ma wasn't even looking at her.

She was looking at a parking meter.

It was bent away from Chloe.

Ma turned to Chloe and slipped a finger through her collar shaking her. "_How did you do that?"_ She shook her a little harder. "_I didn't give you permission to use your power!_"

Chloe's eyes were wide as she grabbed onto Ma's hand, the finger between the collar sticking into her skin and causing her to choke.

"I'm sorry!" She whimpered, voice hoarse, standing on her tiptoes.

"_How_?" Ma slipped in two more fingers.

Chloe gasped for breath, her throat killing her.

"Ma!" Lana cried in shock.

Lois pushed Ma. "Leave her alone!"

Ma turned to her and glared. "Shock."

Lois screamed as she fell to the ground, holding onto her collar as small electrical charges shocked her. Not only did the collar keep the powers under control, only allowing them to be used when given commands, but they were voice automated, following the orders of the one whose voice was programed into it.

"No!" Chloe cried, seeing her cousin in pain. "_Please!_ **Please!**"

"_Release_."

Lois gasped, taking in deep breaths as suddenly she was able to breath again, her body sore.

Chloe still stood on her tiptoes, held up uncomfortably by her collar.

Ma tightened her hold on the collar before using it to yank Chloe to the ground.

The blonde fell down next to her cousin.

"Get up. Both of you." She hissed. "And _move_."

Lana hurried towards them and helped them on their feet.

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Chloe was hungry.

They all were.

But tonight there wouldn't be any food-punishment for what had happened in the alleyway.

The three girls sat by the table, looking at the books in front of them.

In each one was detailed ways of killing a person or subduing them or such.

One day, when they were older and fully conditioned to obey, they'd go to Grandfather, to work for him.

It was thanks to him that they were alive, that they had their abilities, and they owed the scary man everything.

Chloe wondered what it meant to 'breed', Ma's words from before ringing in her ear.

What had she meant when she said when the time was right she'd be bred with someone else like her?

"Why do you think Ma took us to see your Sam?" Lana asked softly, her stomach growling loudly.

"She knew Chloe wouldn't want to see him after this." Lois replied, rubbing her still sore neck, gaze on her books. "She did it so that Chloe would _never_ go back. And she wanted to see how the collar would work if Chloe subconsciously triggered it there. She wanted to see her wriggle in pain for the first time."

Lana winced, remembering when that'd happened to her.

Chloe rubbed her collar, remembering wanting one so badly so she wouldn't be a bad girl anymore.

The collar hadn't done any help.

She was just a bad girl.

Even with the collar all she did was cause trouble.

"Why didn't the collar contain her ability?" Lana wanted to know, sending a scared look to the stairs.

Lois made a face. "I think-all the serum in her-made it stronger." She held her stomach as it growled. "I heard Ma telling Grandfather on the phone, asking for a stronger collar."

Lana shivered at the mention of Grandfather.

Chloe's gaze was on her textbook, on the pictures of the man behind the old woman, a knife pressed against the skin of her neck. The next couple of pictures showed the spurt of blood, and the sliced open skin. She didn't feel the need to look away.

After last night nothing more could make her feel sick.

One day she'd be the one with the knife, one day _she_ would be the one slicing the throat of someone else without a moment's thought.

All her life she'd been trained for this, to one day 'graduate' to join Grandfather's side.

She sighed and grabbed at her collar.

"Do you think we're monsters?" Lana whispered, eyes on the pictures.

Lois looked up at her. "_No_. We're _not_."

"Monsters kill." Lana whispered, wiping at a tear. "We're going to kill." Her bottom lip trembled. "I don't _wanna_."

"How many times do I have to tell you that we don't have a _choice_ in the matter?" Lois hissed. "Our parents don't want us. Yours are dead. We have _no one else_. This is our family. We have _no other future_. Get used to it, Lana. The sooner you do, the better everything will be for you."

Lana whimpered.

Lois turned to Chloe. "You too. Now that you're activated you'll be expected to do more."

Chloe nodded, gaze ducked. "I know."

Lois sighed as she looked between them, and then placed her hands on theirs.

Lana and Chloe joined hands as well.

Their stomachs growled as one.

But it was drowned out by the sound of the front door being kicked in.

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**Review?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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The phone rang loudly, causing Sam to groan as he woke up, trying to find his cellular blindly in the dark.

"Hello?" He yawned, not even bothering to see who was calling.

"_Sam_!" Sarah's voice was urgent, scared.

He sat up immediately. "What is it? What happened?"

"I'm at the hospital." His girlfriend announced, and continued before he could ask her why she was there. "I came to get my aunt some things before her surgery tomorrow and when I came in they were wheeling them in."

"What?" Sam frowned, looking at the clock. "_Who?"_

"_Chloe_, Sam." Sarah's voice croaked. "Her and her mother. And Lois and Lana are here too. They're roughed up, but-_Sam_."

Sam was still, frozen. "What happened?"

"I don't understand everything. You just-Sam _please_.I have Lois and Lana here and no one knows the name of their mother or how to contact any family and-."

"I'm on my way." He cut off the call and stumbled out of bed, racing to change his clothes before rushing to his parents room and swinging the door open, causing it to bang against the wall.

Mary and John Winchester jolted up into their beds.

"Jesus _Christ_, Sammy!" John gasped, hand to his heart. "Don't fucking _give me a heart attack_ son!"

"What's wrong honey?" Mary slipped out of bed, pulling on a house coat.

"Sarah just called me from the hospital. Chloe and her family were taken there, apparently something's happened I don't know what, but Sarah has Lois and Lana and no one can find any family member and-."

Mary was already grabbing a set of clothes to change into. "Get Dean to take you right away, your father and I will be there right behind you."

Sam nodded and rushed to wake up his brother.

Dean had complained a little (having just come back from a party and was exhausted) but he'd driven Sam to the hospital, and the young men had hurried to where Sarah had said they'd be.

He froze when he saw her.

Or, when he saw Lana and Lois.

They were covered in bruises and cuts, Lana's bottom lip popped and swollen.

They'd been _beaten_.

Badly.

And even though they were hugging blankets around them, Sam could see the spots of blood on their faces. They looked a mixture of terrified and determined, keeping scared eyes on everyone around them.

"Oh _fuck_." Dean hissed next to him, voice filled with anger and disbelief. "Don't tell me some fucker hurt those _kids_."

Sam didn't answer, walking towards them at a slow, sedate pace.

His first impression of Chloe, and then of her sisters, was that they were like feral kittens used to being chased or kicked or hurt. They didn't trust anyone around them, it was painfully obvious, and Sam knew that the best way to treat people or creatures who'd gotten hurt was to be slow and gentle, to keep his voice and expressions neutral or soft.

So even though he wanted to rant and rave, he kept himself under control as he reached them. "Are you two okay?"

The girls looked up at him silently.

Lois was sporting the ugliest black eye he'd ever seen, but she nodded that yes, they were fine.

Lana, the youngest looking of the three, leaned into her older sister, bottom lip poked out and trembling.

Sam wanted to reach out and hug them, but he didn't know the extent of their wounds and could end up hurting them.

And also, they were in a fight or flight mood right now and he'd probably only end up scaring them even more.

"_Sam_."

He looked up at his girlfriend. "What happened?"

"We don't _know_." Sarah whispered, looking down at the girls for a quick second. "All I got out of the police was that there was some sort of home invasion. A _lot_ of guys broke into their house and..." her voice broke. "Their mother didn't make it. She was dead when they brought her here."

He gulped. "Where's Chloe?"

Lana hid her face in Lois' shoulder.

The older girl silently lifted up on flap of her blanket and let Lana in, wrapping her arm and the blanket securely around the smaller girl, her eyes shining with unshed tears as she looked down at the tiled floor.

Sarah looked away from Sam, face contorting in pain for a second as she bit her lip, blinking rapidly, trying to keep control of herself. "I-I only caught a glimpse of her Sam, as they were wheeling her away to the operating table." She turned to look at him. "It doesn't look good. I wouldn't have recognized her if Lois and Lana weren't trailing the doctors and..."

Sam felt nausea rising up his throat and he looked away.

"Oh _fuck_." Dean hissed from where he'd been behind them.

Mary and John arrived, coming up towards them, but Sam didn't notice, he moved away from the others.

He was going to throw up.

Sam took in deep breaths.

He didn't know _what_ it had been about that small blonde child that had called to him, but from the first moment he'd seen her watching him nervously he'd felt protective. Dean liked to say that Sam had a weakness for strays, for the wounded and the abused, and while Sam usually laughed that off or made a face at his brother he wanted to _cry_ now.

Those kids.

_God_.

He closed his eyes.

His parents and him had decided to go file a complaint against this woman for possible child abuse tomorrow.

It'd come a little too late, hadn't it?

They were more abused now than ever.

And who knew _what_ those _monsters_ might have done to those little girls.

He clenched his fists, feeling fury unlike anything he'd ever felt rising up into his chest.

Sam didn't notice his father, face demonic with fury, going towards the policemen. John Winchester had many close friends in the police force, and no doubt he was going over to get more information on what exactly had happened.

Sam didn't notice his mother, face agonized yet tender, as she knelt down in front of the two battered girls. Mary Winchester had always wanted daughters, and Sam hadn't known who'd been more furious at the thought of the girls being possibly abused, him or her.

But Sam _did_ notice Doctor Williams when he came out of a room and went towards the girls.

Mary looked up.

Sam returned to where the others were.

"How is she?" Sarah was the first to ask. "Is she okay?"

The doctor looked uneasy as he gazed upon them, his gaze falling to the two little girls.

To their necklaces.

Sam frowned.

What the fuck?

The doctor cleared his throat, looking even more uneasy. "Maybe you should take the girls for a walk."

"How is _Chloe_?" Lois snapped, an angry tear falling down her cheek. "_How is Chloe_?"

"She's stable." The doctor announced. "She'll make it."

Lana burst out crying in happiness.

More tears fell down Lois' cheeks as she breathed out in utter relief, letting go of the need to be strong and just allowing herself to break.

Sam's heart broke even more.

Sarah wiped at her eyes before smiling down at the girls. "Why don't we go get something from the vending machines? How about some snacks, huh? Chloe's going to be fine. You don't have to stand guard here."

"They might be back." Lana whispered.

Lois nodded. "We have to be here."

Sarah's face shifted as she tried to keep the smile on her face and the tears from falling. "Honey. The cops are here. They'll protect you. You don't have to worry."

The girls didn't look convinced.

Mary sniffled.

Sarah cleared her throat. "And if anything, the vending machine is only right over there. If something happens you'll be able to hear and come protect her."

Lois and Lana looked unsure, but they let her usher them away.

The doctor watched them go before turning to Sam and his mother. "Mary, just _how_ do you know those children?"

"Sam's friends with Chloe, the blonde one." Mary responded cautiously, eyeing her childhood friend. "What is it Neil?"

"Oh _god_ Mary, where do I _start_?" Doctor Williams looked around him. "Whoever these girls are, they've been through _hell_. Especially the blonde girl. Not only did I find the bruises and cuts and such of tonight, but her body has bruises in every stage of healing. They've been abused on a daily basis."

Sam clenched his fists as his worse nightmare was confirmed.

"And not only that, but they've been _injected_ with something. They all have scarring on their inner arms from multiple injections with a needle so thick..." He looked away, cursing. "I barely got her stabilized, Mary. She flatlined over and over again on the table."

"Why was she being operated?" Dean wanted to know.

"She'd been shot. Mary. Three times. Each time the bullets just barely missed her heart. We were getting out the bullets."

"Oh dear _god_." Mary cried.

"Why was she targeted more than the others? They only have bruises and cuts. They weren't shot." Dean narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, they were." The doctor corrected. "But the bullet only grazed Lana, and Lois' went straight through her shoulder and out of her body. It was a clean shot."

"So they were aiming to kill those kids." Dean hissed, looking like he wanted to hit something.

Doctor Williams nodded. "I've tended to wounds like this before when I was practicing for that year in New York. Especially the ones on their mother. This wasn't just a house invasion." He paused. "I'm not a cop, but this was a _hit_. And a professional one. The mother had one bullet to the heart. That was it. She was dead from before the fight really began."

"Wait, what?" Sam looked up. "You mean the _girls_ were the ones who fought them?"

The doctor took in a deep breath. "There must have been other people in the house who fought off the invaders and left after the police were called by the neighbors."

"What happened to the guys that attacked them?" Mary asked.

"I don't know." The doctor replied.

"They're dead." John's voice caused them to turn towards him. "I was talking to Seamus and he said that the men are all _dead_. They're thinking that there was someone else in the house, someone who was _very_ efficient in killing, because the way they were disposed of was very methodical. They have troopers at the house combing the area and the building for anything suspicious."

"Oh my god." Mary leaned into her husband. "This is so horrifying."

"And that's not everything." Doctor Williams looked around him before lowering his voice. "I'm only saying this because I know you, but Mary, John, have you noticed their necklaces?"

"The cute collar necklaces?" Dean frowned.

"Cute isn't the word to describe them." The doctor hissed before taking in a deep breath. "We tried to remove the girl's on the operating table and we nearly _killed_ her."

"_What_?" Sam snapped.

"They're _collars_." The doctor hissed. "Like _dog_ collars. They send bolts of _electricity_ into those children's bodies! Most probably as a subduing effort, or to make them behave or obey. When we tried to get it off of her it sent one so strong into her system that it caused her to flatline the first time!"

John's face was beyond demonic. "They were torturing those little girls."

Sam felt numb and hollow.

"We had to leave the collar on her." His gaze went to where Lois and Lana were wide eyed and eating the snacks Sarah had gotten them with obvious surprise and delight. "I'm guessing their collars are wired the same way." He shook his head. "I'm terrified to think of what those girls went through up until tonight."

"Human trafficking." John hissed.

"I'm thinking so." The doctor nodded solemnly.

"Wait, _what_?" Dean interrupted.

"Children who get stolen from their parents and conditioned to serve and obey their master's every wish, and then are sold to the highest bidder." Sam answered numbly, feeling like he'd been punched in the stomach.

Mary turned and hid her face in John's chest.

"Can we see Chloe?" Sam asked in a voice that was so hoarse he couldn't recognize it as his own.

"She's been moved to a room to try and recover." Doctor Williams told him the room level and number. "I don't usually allow this, but you can check up on her quickly tonight, and visit tomorrow."

Sam nodded, and turned, rushing away.

He hurried to the elevator and punched in the floor number, and when it reached the floor he exited, pausing when he realized the room was right next to the elevator.

Taking in a deep breath, he slipped into the room.

A soft light was on by the bedside table, casting a soft glow on the bloodied, bruised, and nearly unrecognizable child lying lifelessly on the bed.

Chloe was bandaged up, and connecting to a respiratory machine.

Sam collapsed into the seat next to the bed.

For the first time ever, he wanted to _kill_ someone.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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He sat in his office, staring out at the vast city alit in the night.

A knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened and the large man in a business suit entered, lowering a folder to the desk. "The report, sir."

He didn't turn away from the view of the city. "Summarize it for me."

The man cleared his throat. "They survived."

He froze and yet didn't turn as yet. "Which ones?"

"The children, sir."

The man turned in his seat and looked up at the mountain of a man. "_All_ of the children?"

The man nodded. "The newly activated one was critically injured, but has been moved to the recovery room of the hospital. She'll live. And the others sustained minor wounds due to the fact that the girl used her power to mostly misdirect the bullets our operatives sent towards them. It was only when she was shot from behind and injured that the other two sustained minor injuries from the remaining operatives before killing them. By that time, the police were almost on the scene and we were unable to move in and collect them."

He leaned with his elbows on the desk, fingers steepled. "They _survived_."

The man clasped his hands behind his hand and nodded. "All three."

The man was silent, thoughtful. "What of our men?"

There was a pause. "None made it out alive."

There was another bout of silence, and he leaned back in his seat. "And the Matron didn't kill any herself? These are all confirmed deaths perpetrated by the children?"

The man nodded. "In the folder there is a jump-drive with a video feed from the event. The Matron in charge of them was swiftly killed, and when she died her power over their use of their abilities was nullified, and they were able to defend themselves against our men."

He reached for the folder and opened it, ignoring the papers and instead picking up the jump drive. "Go, I wish to watch this alone."

"Yes sir." The man nodded and turned to leave, before hesitating. "Sir, what about the children? What are we to do about them?"

"Where are they now?" He enquired curiously.

"Still in Lawrence, Sir." The man reported. "Our sources say that the telekinetic and the other have been released into custody of someone named John Winchester. His information is in the file as well. From what we've gathered it's a personal favor, since they should have been sent to foster care but the injured one is still in the hospital, and apparently this John Winchester has friends in high places."

"Interesting." He murmured, tapping the jump drive against his lip. "Have any evidence found in that house destroyed or go missing."

"Already taken care of." The man paused before asking once more: "What about the children, sir?"

"Leave them, for a while." He decided after a moment's thought. "We've never had a child pass the test before, Raymond."

"I know sir." Raymond nodded. "Most don't survive the injections of the meteor-based serum or the mutations either, especially not in as much dosage as the injured one received."

"I always had hope for this batch." He confessed. "They had something the others didn't." He frowned. "I do not know what it is, but whatever it is it has made them stronger."

Raymond waited a moment before asking: "So we will halt the search for their replacements? They survived the test."

"Unlike all the others before them." He smiled. "The girls have made me _very_ proud." He chuckled, looking up at Raymond. "Forget acquiring more test subjects. We're going to concentrate on these. They could be what I've been searching for all these years. Input the new codes for their collars and send it to them. They've reached a new level."

"So we are leaving them with the Winchesters, sir?" Raymond asked, just to be sure that those were his orders.

"For now." Grandfather nodded. "The Matron finished teaching them their first lesson. Now, let the Winchesters teach them how to live a normal life, how mingle with normal people, and how to go undetected in the real world." He smiled evilly. "They'll need that knowledge if they're to graduate this next level."

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"Are you sure you want to do this, John?" Mick McGreggor wanted to know, eyeing his long time friend with unease.

John could understand the concern. "Yes." He nodded, gazing at a picture of the days when he was a part of the Marines. "You've seen Mary with them these last couple of days, she's in love with the girls."

"I admit they're cute, John, but these girls come with some serious baggage." Mick frowned. "They aren't run of the mill orphans. They've been abused and they don't even realize it. That shows you that all they know is abuse. They're messed up, John. And then we have to think about whoever it is thats behind the trafficking. I don't think he or she is just going to sit there and let the merchandise be taken from them."

"You think i haven't thought about that, Mick?" John snapped, sitting down. "Mary and I have spent these last couple of nights speaking of nothing _but_ that. We don't sleep. Not that the girls screams are lullabies either."

Mick sighed. "They're still having the nightmares?"

"Every single night. They won't tell us what the nightmares are about, but every single night they're dreaming them." John nodded, remembering the agonized screams coming from the room the girls were sharing. "And from what Neil told us, Chloe's the same in the hospital. She wakes up with cold sweat, screaming her lungs out, and refusing to say a word to anyone."

"They're damaged, John. Screwed up for life." Mick tried once more. "These aren't stray kittens that Sam found in the garage and wants to tend to until you can find better homes for them. These are three very fucked up kids."

"Exactly, Mick. They're _kids_." John swallowed down past the disgust he felt every single time he remembered the bruised and battered bodies. He hadn't known these kids personally until that night at the hospital, but as a father it sickened him to his soul to think of a child being abused the way they had. "We're not saying we're going to _adopt_ them, but right now they need something stable, and the girls know Sam, and they're getting less wary of Mary. And you know her. Mary's in love with them. Spends all her time with the three girls at the hospital." He gave a small smile, thinking of his angelic wife. "She's probably more anxious than the girls to have Chloe be discharged."

"Doctor WIlliams says she's healing fast."

Incredibly so.

John nodded. "If things continue the way they are, she'll be let out in a couple of days."

"John..." Mick tried once more. "This could be dangerous."

"Mary nor Sam won't have it any other way, and Dean feels the same way I do about some grown person taking a stick to a child." John ran his hand over his head.

"They're strangers, John. Why would you put your family at risk-."

"What if they'd been my sons, Mick?" John interrupted, looking up. "What if Mary and I had been the unlucky bastards who'd had their children stolen from them? If those girls had been Sam and Dean, all screwed up and abused, I would be praying night and day for someone to take pity on them and treat them right until I could get them back."

Mick fell silent at that.

John sighed.

The police officer cleared his throat. "John, we don't know who they belong to. The DNA proves that they didn't belong to the woman they called Ma, but we can't even figure out who she was. She had her fingerprints lazered off, and her face isn't registering in any system. And the children-their fingerprints were lazered off too, probably right around the time thy were taken."

John frowned. "That's kinda high tech."

"We've also run their faces through our national face recognition program, trying to find any missing children reports that might match them, but nothing. We can't find anything on them. Either they were taken too young...or their parents haven't reported them as missing."

"What kind of parent wouldn't-?"

"The dead kind." Mick paused. "Or the kind that didn't _lose_ their kid."

For a moment John couldn't understand, and then he did, growing furious. "You don't think-?"

"It's sad, John, but it's been known to happen before." Mick responded. "Sometimes orphanages have too little space and they sell some off, and sometimes its the parents or the guardians themselves."

His fists clenched in anger.

Mick hesitated. "And I shouldn't be telling you this, John, but you're my friend and I need you to understand the gravity of the situation. We found some _sick_ shit in that house. There was even a crematorium downstairs, and searching inside amongst the ash we found tiny bits of blood. The owner of the house (who was registered as Jane Doe Smith by the way) was obviously using it to get rid of the bodies of people they'd killed. And one of the upper bedrooms was a male's room. He had a stash of the most disgusting kiddie porn we have ever collected. Inhumane stuff."

John felt sick at his stomach. "Do you think the girls-?"

"I don't know, John, but I wouldn't have put it past whoever the bastard was." Mick looked sick. "But what I'm trying to say is that the Feds butted into the investigation, took everything over and locked us out. And only when I badgered and badgered did they reveal to me that all of the evidence went missing."

"_Missing_?"

"Whoever is in charge of this, John, has a lot of sway, even in the FBI." Mick frowned. "Do you _really_ want to get involved in a war that is not your own?"

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The last bell rung and everyone began quickly grabbing their things, aiming for a quick getaway.

Sam let everyone fight to get out of the classroom as he took his time getting his things together. Dean didn't have detention for once, and that meant that he had a sure ride home and didn't need to rush to get to the bus before it filled up or left. The fourteen year old sighed and leaned against his desk, looking at his book.

The last couple of days had been odd, having two silent girls in the house with them, but Sam was getting used to it.

And his mother-she adored the girls.

And the girls?

Well, Lana had actually smiled at Mary last night and it'd made his mother all misty-eyed.

Lois was more reserved, refusing to let Mary get close to her.

But Sam saw it for what it was.

She was still wary, and protecting herself against the older woman.

Lois was doing it with everyone, keeping an invisible wall up between them, never letting them get too close.

But Sam had also seen the longing in her eyes when she'd seen John ruffling Dean's hair and laughing.

The kid wanted to open up, but she wasn't letting herself.

It hurt to watch.

Just like it hurt to go to the hospital every evening to spend the time with his mother, the girls, and Chloe.

Mostly, Sam just did his homework and kept an eye on them, but it made him feel better to know that they were where he could keep an eye on them.

Maybe Dean was right-maybe Sam _was_ a sucker for strays.

"Okay, so I talked to my mother and she'll drop me off in about an hour and pick me up when I call her." Sarah arrived by his side, smiling brightly. "This will be so exiting."

Sam frowned, looking up at her, confused. "What's so exciting about the hospital?"

"Hos-?" Sarah frowned. "_Sam_. I'm talking about our date." She paused. "Our _anniversary_."

Sam looked at her, eyes widening. "_Anniversary_? That was this week?"

"It's today." Her gaze lowered. "You forgot."

And he felt like such a _dick_. "I'm sorry. I-with everything that's happened it totally slipped my mind."

She looked up and gave him a weak smile. "Thats okay. Its understandable." She took in a deep breath. "But we can still make it special."

He opened his mouth, about to tell her he'd told Chloe he'd be at the hospital today, and then he closed it.

This was apparently their _Anniversary_ (had they _really_ been together for a year already?) and Sarah had been really understanding these last couple of days, letting him spend most of his time (if not all of it) at the hospital. "Where do I ask Dean to drop me off at before he goes to hang out with his friends?"

Sarah grinned brightly and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly.

Sam wondered why it was so hard for him to feel excited.

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"Sam won't be coming again today." Mary sighed as she got off of the phone with her youngest, eyeing the girls where they'd been laying on Chloe's bed watching the television in her room with apt intentness. The girls had never seen a television before Chloe had been hospitalized, and Mary had felt both amused and saddened at how excited and curious the three had been over it, asking questions about 'the people in the box' and such.

Chloe lowered her gaze.

Lana didn't really seem to care, her eyes glued on the My Little Pony cartoon.

Lois sent a look at her cousin and then looked away. "Well, I knew it."

"_Lois_." Chloe whispered, sending Mary a worried look.

It hurt Mary how, despite the last couple of days, the girls were still wary that any little thing would end with them being hit. They were all so cautious, so careful, and so terribly respectful. They usually didn't speak unless spoken to, and even then they usually answered with the least amount of words as respectfully possible.

"I'm just saying." Lois mumbled, folding her arms over her chest.

Chloe might have been the one with the most physical bruising, but Mary could see that Lois was the one who'd suffered the most psychologically. It pained her to see the girl so closed off and cynical.

"I'm going for a drink." Lois announced, slipping off of the bed, sending a glance to Mary. "I won't blame you if you're not here when I come back."

And with that she left.

Lana looked at the older girl before climbing off of the bed and hurrying after her.

Mary sighed.

That girl had been _hurt_.

"Don't take it personally. You're...very nice...and gentle...like Sam." Chloe whispered, gaze lowered, fingers tracing a pattern on her faded sheet. "But you look like aunt Ellen, and that hurts Lois."

Mary looked up.

Ellen?

Was that Lois' mother's name?

Chloe continued to look down at the sheet, her face black and blue but the pain on her features wasn't physical. "Lana's parents died when she was a baby, but Lois' and mine gave us up."

Mary could hear the tremor in the child's voice and she wanted to reach out to touch her hand, but she knew the child was jumpy and not ready for it yet.

"Ma and Pa liked to remind us how we weren't wanted, how our families got on fine without us." Chloe cleared her throat. "I understand the tactic, mentally. By turning us against our parents they would become our only anchor and we wouldn't rebel as much. They were trying to instill a Stockholm Syndrome of such in us."

That was incredibly mature logic for such a young girl.

"Lois' parents had a baby after they gave her up." Chloe looked at her nails. "They named her Lois."

And suddenly Mary could understand the child with the wall of unbreakable ice.

"We wanted to believe that it was a lie, but the story was in the newspaper. It spoke about how Lois had been 'abducted and never found' and that the 'grieving' mother and father had wanted to move on." Chloe sighed. "Lois moved on too, after that." She finally looked up at Mary. "So please, don't be offended by her. It's nothing personal."

Mary wondered when these girls stories would stop breaking her heart.

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**Review?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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He'd finished watching the video feed, and he was impressed.

The man smiled as he went over the girls files.

Lana was a young prodigy, having activated and developed her power earlier than the others, and have managed near perfect control of it at a mere ten years of age. Her gift of telekinesis was powerful and she could move anything if she really put her mind to it. She was obedient and quick to do as told, and had the promise of great beauty. She was doing quite well in the physical combat lessons the Matron had been giving her, and had the agility of a gymnast.

It was her handle of firearms that was faulty.

He looked at the picture in his hand of Lana Lang.

She was dressed in something of a western cowgirl outfit, her hair long and adorned by a black stetson.

He wondered if that perverted bastard had played dress up with her for his own sick pleasure.

The young girl held two guns in her hands, looking at a target that was off camera.

Her face showed her dislike of the activity.

She was unable to keep back the look of discomfort and slight disgust as she aimed at whatever it was she was shooting at.

That just wouldn't do.

While powers were important, the girls needed to learn how to deal with someone in every other way as well in case, for some reason, their power was useless for them.

Grandfather shook his head and decided to have that rectified once she was returned to them.

He then turned his attention to the next girl.

Lois Lane the First.

The oldest of the three girls, Lois had the power of strength, something he found fascinating in a female. He might have expected it out of one of the males that'd been injected with the meteor-based serum, but instead it'd manifested in her. She was the natural leader of the girls, dedicated to kick-boxing and other sorts of fighting techniques, and had an uncanny ability with guns.

In fact, during the test she had been the only of the girls to steal a weapon from his men and shoot them with it. She'd then cleaned her prints off of the weapon...showing that it was in her instinct to be thorough and meticulous.

He picked up the picture of her.

She was in what looked like a school girl outside, firing a large machine gun.

Again he wondered if that bastard had decided to dress up the girls for the photos.

The girl was putting her all into the firing, her face showing her extreme emotion.

The Matron had noted in her reports that Lois was fueled by her anger and resentment, and it made her both a powerful, yet vulnerable adversary at the same time.

When Lois came to her new home, he'd have to make sure she learnt not to battle and use her emotions, as emotions would only make her weak while on the battle floor.

Grandfather put down the picture of Lois and picked up the last picture of this report.

It was of the blonde girl, Chloe.

Her powers of magnetism fascinated him to no end.

She could use the magnetic energy in the air to either attract or repulse things around her...and he wondered if like a magnet-and considering the magnetic energy one's brain had-if in time she could use that ability to attract or repulse _people_ as well. If so, this child could be his greatest weapon yet.

The girl had taken the longest to have her powers activated, and because of that she'd done her best to try and make up for her deficiency in other ways. She didn't have the best shot record (that was held by Lois) but she knew the anatomy of every firing weapon made and she could pull them apart and then put them back again together in amazing time. She didn't have the best control over her powers (that was Lana) but she was the one who'd put the most effort into activating and trying to become useful for him, and the report on her power able to override the first program on her collar proved that it was more powerful than Lana's.

The Matron had noted how Chloe's brain had developed to extraordinary lengths, the child like a sponge when it came to information. The woman had also noted how her intelligence was so great that she wanted to have her tested against a super computer...and her money was on the child.

He peered at the picture.

The blonde child was wearing fatigues, with a camouflage hat, warrior marks on her face, and large brown shades hiding her eyes from the picture. She was pointing a gun at the person taking the picture, and the expression on her face looked somewhat blank.

He liked this picture.

She looked like she was out in the wilds on a mission.

It was more realistic than the others.

During their training here, he'd have them wear fatigues.

Having decided that, Grandfather laid the three pictures on the desk in front of him, before reaching for another report folder.

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Sam didn't know what he was doing here.

Jumping off of his bicycle, he knew he'd be in deep shit if they discovered that he'd snuck out of the house, but he really wasn't in the mood for it right now. The date with Sarah had been awkward and he'd felt guilty for being able to forget their Anniversary, and while Sarah was being really nice and gracious about it he'd known that he'd hurt her. And that bothered him. The reason he'd liked Sarah to begin with was because she was probably the sweetest person he knew, and Sam didn't like knowing that he had caused her to feel bad.

Even if it hadn't been on purpose.

Sam snuck around to the back, scaling a couple of chain link fences, before finally reaching the tree outside of the window he was looking for. He looked around, making sure the night guards weren't patrolling, and climbed up the trunk to the branch, slowly easing his way towards the open window.

_Mom would kill me if she knew what I was doing_.

He knew it was late, and that he was breaking a _million_ different rules, but he'd promised Chloe he'd come over that evening, and all throughout his date he'd felt so incredibly _guilty_ for not keeping his word to the kid.

So here he was, sneaking into her room in the dead of the night, risking life and limb on a shaking branch.

Grunting, Sam pulled himself through the window and tumbled down into the darkness on the ground, limbs all tangled up in each other.

Hearing a noise he looked up in time for something to be slammed into the side of his face with enough force to swing his head, and then all was black.

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"Lois?" Lana whispered in the dead of the night, lying down on the large, comfortable bed they shared.

"Hmmm?" Lois turned in bed, yawning, sleepy and yet listening.

"What happens to us now?" Lana whispered. "Are they going to send us to an orphanage?" She reached out for a tendril of Lois' hair. "I don't want us to be separated. You and Chloe are all I know." Lois looked deep into her face before placing her hand on hers. "We're not going to be separated, okay Lana? Everything's going to work out."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Lana narrowed her eyes nervously. "Pinky promise?"

Lois laughed softly, nodding. "I pinky promise."

Relieved, Lana allowed a smile to grace her face. "I like these people, Lois. They're nice."

The smile drained from Lois' face as she turned onto her back, looking up at the ceiling. "How long is _that _going to last?"

"You think they'll change?" Lana asked, worried.

"We're different, Lana. We're not like them." Lois responded slowly. "We're not their children."

"I know that." Lana lowered her gaze. "But they're nice to us. And they haven't screamed at us. Not even once."

"We've only been here a couple of days."

Lana worried her bottom lip in silence.

Lois continued to look up at the ceiling. "Grandfather will come for us."

Lana's eyes widened. "I don't want him to!"

"He's our family now." Lois brought a hand to her heart. "He's the only one who knows what we are, and still wants us."

Lana sniffled. "But I don't _like_ Grandfather."

Lois mightn't have said it out loud, but she agreed with her little 'sister'.

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When Sam came too, he was on the ground, with his head on a pillow.

And it was killing him.

"I'm so _sorry_." Chloe stood over him like some ghost, pale in the moonlight, the only thing dark about her were her bruises. "I thought you were-you-you came through the window and I thought you were-I didn't _mean_ to..."

He got the picture, and felt _really_ stupid.

This girl had just survived a terrible home invasion...and here he'd thought it a good idea to sneak into her room.

"It's okay Chloe." He winced, sitting up. "It's my fault."

"No, I-."

"_Chloe_." He reached out and grabbed her hand softly, trying to still her wreckage of words. "It's _okay_. I'm not mad at you. I have no reason _to_ be mad." He kept his voice calm, his eyes meeting hers in the darkness so she could see the sincerity in them. "I just wanted to see you. I promised I'd be here today, and it didn't feel right, not to keep my promise."

She looked at him as if he were the oddest thing she'd ever seen.

But at least she wasn't flinching away from his touch.

That was tremendous progress.

"Does your head still hurt?" She asked softly.

He nodded and then winced.

She looked worried. "I whacked you pretty hard with the tray I hid under my mattress just in case..." Her eyes then widened and she looked away.

Sam frowned as he realized just _how_ scared the girl had been there all alone in the nights.

She'd kept a tray hidden under her mattress just so that she could have some sort of weapon should someone attack her while she was by herself.

"Good work, by the way." Sam chuckled despite the throb in his head. "You caught me completely by surprise." He tilted his head somewhat. "How did you know I was coming through the window?"

She smiled. "You're _loud_. I could hear you from the moment you started climbing the tree. You need to work on your stealth, you're as graceful as a four hundred pound bear."

He felt like he should be insulted, but just couldn't be.

That was the first time he'd seen her smile.

"Are you going to read more to me from that book?" Chloe asked suddenly, breaking into the silence.

Sam had never heard of a ten year old who understood what Shakespeare wrote-much less enjoy it. But Chloe was the exception to the rule. When she'd seen him reading the first chapter of Titus Andronicus, the book he was reading for school, she'd asked him what it was about and then she'd asked him to read it for her. He'd hesitated, because the play was a sordid story of revenge and political turmoil. It overflowed with bloodshed and unthinkable brutality, including countless murders, rapes, terrible acts of mutilation and threats of human sacrifice...and yet Chloe had taken it in terrifying stride. The contents didn't seem to bother her at all.

It made him wonder, even more, just what she'd been subjected to at the hands of her captors.

"I can't turn on the light or the nurses will know something's up." Sam had brought the book though, had carried it with him even to his date.

He really didn't know why.

Maybe he was just used to spending the evenings, after he did his homework, reading the story to her.

"I have _this_." She reached under her bed and pulled out a flashlight, turning the bright beam on.

He raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get _that_ from?"

She paused, looking decidedly guilty. "One of the night guards _might_ have put it down for a second and I _might have _decided to borrow it without asking."

He watched her in amusement. "You stole his flashlight."

"_Borrowed_." She corrected. "And its _dark_ in here."

He had to agree with that.

The blonde with the bruised face climbed into bed and pulled the sheets up over her. "Read to me?"

Sam found he couldn't refuse.

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**Review?**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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Sam groaned in pain, his face throbbing.

And someone poking his cheek wasn't helping.

Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Chloe's face peering worriedly at him, a glass of water in one hand, and pills in another.

He wanted to say good morning, but morning breath kept him from doing so.

"Here." Chloe shoved the pills into his mouth and forced the tip of the glass against his lips, tilting it up and thus forcing him to swallow or drown.

Sam nearly choked, gulping down all the water until Chloe finally pulled the glass away from him.

He coughed, looking away as he wiped his mouth with the back of his palm. "What was that?"

"Ibuprofen." She replied, motioning to a large bottle of it on her bedside table. "It'll help take away the pain, and the slight swelling you have."

"How many did you give me? That was more than just two." Sam frowned, a little worried about overdosing.

"Don't worry, nothing's going to happen to you." Chloe sat down gently on her bed and reached for the container, giving it a little shake. "We've had to use this since I can remember, and I know how much is safe and how much means you'll be overdosing. You'll be fine, feel fine, soon. And the swelling will go down as well." She tossed him the container, which he caught. "Take it with you when you go and keep taking some tablets throughout the day. By tonight you'll be back to new. I didn't hit you _that_ hard last night."

Sam frowned, eyes on the bottle, fists tightening around it.

It killed him to know that the girl was so used to being hurt that she'd become an expert at administrating painkillers.

"I can't take your painkillers." Though he found it odd that the doctors had left the bottle with her. "You need them more than I do."

"Oh, those aren't mine." She laid down and pulled the sheets over her to her chin.

Sam blinked, looking up at her. "Then where did you get it?"

She snorted and then paused, eyeing him.

She did that a lot, as if testing his boundaries, seeing what he would allow and trying to figure out where his breaking point was.

It made him sick at his stomach whenever he realized that she was testing to see at what point he'd snap and hit her.

Sam waited for her answer.

She seemed to notice it, and a half smile tilted the right side of her lips. "We're in a _hospital_, Sam. They store medicine here." She opened her mouth, paused, and then closed it, looking up at the ceiling. "Where do you _think_ I got the medicine from?" She then waited, a nearly pained expression on her face.

She was expecting to be hit.

Again.

He took in a deep breath. "Chloe, stealing is wrong."

She frowned and turned towards him.

He could understand the tray and the flashlight, but apparently Chloe was more efficient at that little art than he'd given her the credit. If she could sneak into where they kept the medicine and sneak back out with this bottle and not get caught, while still bandaged up and in pain, well...she was _very_ good.

"Not unless you get caught." She replied slowly, as if reciting something. "And I _never_ get caught."

He paused, thinking that that sounded exactly like something those psychos would've taught her. "Did you ever steal anything from the store I work in?"

She'd had ample opportunity.

The blonde shook her head no.

"Why not?"

She opened her mouth and then closed it, looking perplexed. "I don't know."

He let it rest at that, watching her as she toyed with her collar.

The thing made him sick, but they couldn't remove the things from the girls. Every time they tried they'd had to stop because of the _screaming_. And they couldn't put the kids through that anymore, so they'd left the collars on and tried to ignore them.

They would find a way to get rid of them though.

They _had_ to.

Sam's gaze went to the clock on the wall, and his eyes widened. "_Crap_! Is that the time? They're going to _kill _me!"

Her eyes widened in horror. "_Why_? Who-?"

He looked at her, realizing that she was taking his words literally. "Calm down, I don't mean someone's going to _really_ kill me. I just mean that I'm going to be in trouble."

"Then why would-?" She looked a mixture of confused and angry. "Killing is killing, not being in trouble, killing is _dead_! It's _not_ something to _joke_ about!"

His eyes widened.

She'd never snapped at him before.

Tears were welling in her eyes as she looked down at her hands.

He wondered what she saw when she looked at them.

And then-and _then_ he realized that Chloe _had_ seen killing up close and personal the night those men had invaded her home.

And he felt like such a _douche_.

Tears fell silently down her cheeks.

"_Chloe_." He whispered, feeling like _shit_ as he got up from the chair he'd fallen asleep on and cautiously approached the bed.

She didn't react to him, hugging herself tightly as the tears continued to fall in a creepily silent way.

It was as if she'd been trained that even when she cried, she couldn't do so in a way that might annoy her captors.

Sam's heart _hurt_ for the kid as he lowered himself onto the side of the bed and placed an arm carefully around her shoulders. "I'm sorry."

She was stiff and yet didn't flinch away.

_God_ she was too young to be this scared, this distrusting and broken.

Chloe wiped at a tear and sniffled, gazing at her sheet. "Will they hit you? Your Ma and Pa? Because you were here without their permission?"

"What? _No_." He blinked, surprised at where her mind had been. Then again, that would have been how _her_ 'Ma' and 'Pa' would have reacted, wouldn't it? "_No_. My parents have _never_ really believed in spanking us-but they believed in groundings." He chuckled. "And _I'll_ probably be grounded for this."

For some reason he didn't seem to mind it all that much.

The only place he really went out was to see Chloe at the hospital anyway, and he knew his mother wouldn't keep him from coming with her.

And anyway, Chloe was being discharged from the hospital soon.

Chloe was silent before turning slightly to look at him, eyes narrowed in confusion. "What is this grounding you speak of?"

It was so hard to believe that the girl who could finish his homework in five minutes flat (not that he would let her), and was probably the most intelligent person Sam knew, could be so _innocent_ and ignorant about some more common things.

"It's when you get punished for doing something wrong by not being able to go out to places or have certain privileges taken away from you for a certain amount of time." Sam tried to explain.

Chloe's face was blank as she listened to him. "Oh. I know of this grounding."

He felt a little relieved that they'd punished her by grounding her sometimes and not just hitting her.

"Whenever I was too much of a bad girl, and disappointed Ma too badly, my actions forced her to have to do this grounding." The blonde gulped. "I was locked in the little room under the stairs for a couple of days, just long enough for me to understand how bad I'd been and realize that I needed to try harder to be good like Lana and Lois." She sniffled, her face contorting in misery. "And Ma was always very good to me after I was let out. She didn't punish me for soiling the room or for vomiting if I ate the food too rapidly and got sick." She lowered her gaze. "I got sick a lot. I was gluttonous. But I was so _hungry_ after the grounding, and thirsty, and I just couldn't eat like a _civilized_ person and Ma was good to me even the times I couldn't make it to the bathroom on time."

Sam's whole body was steel, his mind unable to process what she was telling him.

Those bastards had locked her up in a small room under the stairs, for _days_, without food, water, or even a bathroom break.

And she thought she'd _deserved_ it.

She thought they were _good_ to her for not beating her afterwards.

He wanted to _cry_.

"_Sam_?" Chloe's voice was shaky. "_Why_ _are you crying_?"

He reached a hand up numbly to touch his cheek, and realized that he _was_ crying.

Chloe looked up at him, eyes wide. "I'm sorry. I-I did something I wasn't supposed to and made you sad, didn't I? What did I do? I'm _sorry_. I just don't know what I did wrong."

He wanted to shout at her, and tell her that not _everything_ was her fault!

She was a _kid_ for crying out loud!

Instead he wrapped his arms around her, mindful not to hurt her, and broke down crying.

Chloe went stiff in his arms, before slowly wrapping her arms around him and patting his back. "Its okay Sam." She tried comforting him, though it was obvious from her tone of voice that she didn't know _why_ she was comforting him. "Are you scared of being lonely in your room when you get grounded?" She continued to pat his back, her actions soothing, as if she was used to comforting someone crying. Then again, she probably was. "When I get out of here, and if you're still in the room, I'll sit on the other side of the door and talk to you when they aren't watching." She promised. "Lana and Lois used to do that for me, and hearing their voices made it less lonely."

He cried harder.

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**Review?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural**

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Mary and John didn't know exactly how to deal with the situation.

One of the nurses had called them early morning to let them know that they'd gone to check up on Chloe and had found Sam sleeping on one of the chairs, Titus open on his chest, a turned on flashlight on the ground next to his feet. Obviously he'd snuck in after hours to read for Chloe and had fallen asleep.

Mary and John had decided to ground that boy till he was a grandparent.

And then Nurse Marva had called back again, saying that she'd gone back to check up on them and had stumbled upon Sam crying and Chloe trying to comfort him. Neither kid had noticed her and she'd slipped out undetected, but had called them to let them know in case something had happened.

And this was what Mary and John didn't exactly know how to deal with.

Hearing humming, and smelling something good, the parents finally stumbled out of bed and tiptoed towards the kitchen, peeking inside.

Lana was standing on top of a stool, busy at work, cooking on the stove.

Mary's heart hurt with _fear_ that the child could hurt herself, burn herself, but the young girl seemed used to navigating around a kitchen, and knives, and hot stoves.

Mary wondered if the captors had made the girls cook for them.

Lois was sitting on a chair, not helping, but keeping a watchful eye on Lana, and a wary one on Dean, as he walked around straining with a jar of jam he seemed unable to open.

Dean cursed, slamming the jar down.

Lana squeaked.

Lois jumped.

John and Mary exchanged looks.

Dean winced, looking between the two girls. "Come on you two, don't be so jumpy. I'm just loud by nature."

Lana watched him warily.

Lois narrowed her eyes.

"It's not manly to hit chicks." Dean assured them, leaning against the counter. "And believe me, the girls at my school _love_ me. I'm gorgeous, lovable, and I know how to treat a woman right."

John smirked in amusement.

Mary gave him a look.

Lana eyed Dean for a moment longer before deciding to take his word for it, and turned back to whatever it was she was doing.

Lois eyed the jar of jam before snorting and looking away, folding her arms over her chest. "Defeated by bottled produce. _Pathetic_."

Dean snorted. "Listen to you. Like _you_ could do any better."

She seemed insulted by that and reached for the jar and without even putting any effort into it, she opened the lid.

A smirk appeared on her face as she held it up. "Here you go." She handed it to him. "You know, I've seen this on the television. Usually, the _guy _is the one who is supposed to be the one doing the opening of the jar."

Dean pouted, looking at the opened jar. "I loosened it for you."

"You _wish_!" Lois barked out laughter before she paused and brought a hand to her mouth, eyes wide in shock.

Lana turned and looked at Lois with wide eyes.

Mary smiled and brought a hand to her heart.

That was the first time she'd seen any sort of amusement from Lois.

John placed an arm around his wife's shoulder.

"See? I got a way with the ladies." Dean grinned. "Got _you_ to laugh. And you're usually miserable."

Lois glared at him, though not with much venom. "I don't think it counts if I was laughing _at_ you."

Dean wasn't affected though, passing the jar to Lana. "There you go, princess."

"Princess?" Lana blinked, confused. "I'm not a princess."

"Course you are." Dean raised his hand and used it to ruffle her hair messily, ignoring the visible flinch she'd given and the way Lois had jerked as if to stand and defend the younger girl.

Lana looked at Dean in confused, eyes raising upwards towards her hair before tilting her head. "Why are you messing up my hair?"

"I've seen your father do that too, to you and your brother." Lois agreed, looking uneasy yet curious as she realized that Lana was okay. "What does this gesture signify?"

He snorted his laughter. "This is how one shows affections."

"Affection." Lana frowned deeper. "You mean _affliction_."

"No," Dean shook his head. "_Affection_. Means I _like_ you."

Lois mouthed the word.

Mary brought a hand to her mouth.

Lana's eyes were wide. "You _like_ me?" She blinked. "_Why_?"

Dean hesitated, frowning slightly. "Why not?"

"Is it the fact that I'm making breakfast?" Lana wanted to know.

"Lana." Lois stopped her from questioning more.

"People don't need _reasons_ to like you more." Dean tried to explain to Lana. "We like you just _because_."

Lana frowned. "That's not true! For Grandfather to like us we have to-."

"_Lana_!" Lois snapped, standing up. "_Shut up_!"

Lana went still.

Mary and John shared a look.

_Grandfather_?

"Hey!" Dean snapped at Lois. "Don't shout at her!"

"Stay out of this!" Lois screamed at him. "You're not our family!" And with that she kicked the table's leg.

And it broke, collapsing to the ground.

She gazed at in it horror before looking up at Dean and rushing out of the house.

"_Lois_!" Mary called out, worried as the door shut closed. "She doesn't know the neighborhood. She could get lost!"

"I'll go after her." John promised, heading it the door.

Lana was crying.

"Oh baby." Mary went and wrapped her arms around the only one of the girls who'd allow her to touch her. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be fine."

Dean looked guilty. "I'm going to go help dad." And he left the house as well.

Mary held Lana close, and turned off the stove.

In all this mess she forgot all about Sam and his punishment.

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Sam had left.

He said he had to go to 'school'.

Chloe hadn't known what he was talking about and had gotten him to explain that it was a building that kids went to learn in. Why they couldn't learn at home like she, Lana and Lois had was confusing for her, but she'd kept her questions to herself. He'd been very sad at the thought of his impending punishment, and while he assured her that everything was fine and she shouldn't worry, Chloe was worrying. She'd been bad. He'd felt guilty because he'd told her he'd come, and so because of that he'd disobeyed his parents and so because of _her_ he was going to get the grounding. She needed to talk to Mary and John and let them know that Sam didn't deserve the grounding and she did instead. Or maybe they could do the grounding together. It'd be less lonely that way.

Sam told her that his parents' grounding was different, but she didn't quite believe him.

"Hello sweetie." The nurse with the ever-present smile came into the room with her breakfast. "How are you feeling today?"

She looked around, as if searching for something.

Chloe watched her cautiously.

Had she known about Sam being there?

Did she work for Grandfather?

Was he keeping an eye on her through this nurse woman?

"Silent as ever." The nurse mumbled thoughtfully to herself. "You've been healing exceptionally well, surprisingly well, actually. Doctor Williams thinks you can go to the Winchester's home tomorrow."

Chloe's eyes widened. "I can go?"

The nurse smiled brightly and nodded. "Yep. Most probably."

Chloe smiled, in awe.

She was finally going to see the place that Lana said was like a mansion, gorgeous and spacious and not even the _bathrooms_ were the size of the room under the stairs.

Their home must be _amazing_.

The young girl smiled and reached for the tray.

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Dean caught up with his father and Lois, both standing in the middle of the street.

"I didn't mean to-." Lois' eyes were wide with fear and unshed tears, sputtering out apparent gibberish. "I'm just not used to having it under my control. I-."

"Honey, I don't _care_ about the table." John tried to assure her. "It's your _leg_ I'm worried about. You must have hurt it."

Lois eyed John with such confusion that it made Dean pissed off.

The thought of someone being _worried_ about her had the kid confused?

He'd never seen someone so screwed up as these three girls.

And it pissed him off.

He didn't like kids.

As a rule he ignored them and gave them a wide berth unless he was using them to get to their cute older sisters...but these three girls were hard to ignore.

"Stop doing that." Lois pleaded.

John looked just as confused as Dean. "Stop doing _what_ sweetie?"

"_That_!" She pointed at him frantically. "Stop acting as if you actually _care_ about us!"

"Sweetie-."

"_I'm not your sweetie_!" Lois screamed, stabbing viciously at her tear-filled eyes. "We're nothing to you! So stop pretending that we are! Stop-stop confusing Lana!" Her voice cracked. "She thinks this is her new _home_! When we go away she's going to be _hurt_! So _stop_! _Please_!"

"Sw-_Lois_." John tried again. "Lois, we're not going to send you away."

"You _are_!" Lois seemed frantic, gesturing towards the house. "Our parents didn't want us, Ma and Pa didn't want us-_why should you_?" Her voice was hoarse from emotion as she continued to wipe her eyes, desperate to try and be somewhat strong. "Stop pretending that you're so _nice_. Stop acting as if you actually _like_ us. Stop confusing Lana into thinking that people will actually treat us this way from now on! It isn't _normal_!"

"_Yes_, honey." John's voice broke. "It _is_ normal."

"_No it's not!_" Lois' whole body was shaking. "_No one_ has _ever_ treated us like this before! It's _not_ normal! _Stop confusing us_! I _hate_ you for confusing us!"

Dean had to look away.

"Lois." John spoke firmly, but Dean could hear the emotion in his father's voice. "I need you to look at me."

She forced herself to do so.

"_Lois_." John tried again. "I'm sorry you had to go through what you and your sisters did, but you have to understand that _those people_ were the ones who weren't normal. Those people you lived with were _monsters_, and they had _no right_ to treat you three the way they did. You deserve a childhood, you deserve being treated like kids and enjoying your lives. You deserve to be treated like _human beings_."

"Your rules don't apply to us." Lois whispered, numbly. "We're special."

Dean looked back at her, confused.

Lois sniffled and wiped at her tears, seeming numb. "I'm sorry for breaking your table. I didn't mean to." She was so calm it was creepy. "I lost control of my temper and that violates everything I've been taught. It won't happen again." She moved toward the house. "I'll go clean up the mess."

John and Dean watched her go.

Dean's eyes were narrowed. "What the _fuck_ did they _do_ to those girls?"

"I don't know." John announced as he stood. "But I'm sick of letting the F.B.I. sweep this under the rug. It's time I call Caleb."

Dean turned towards John. "Your friend from the Marines who became a P.I.?"

John nodded.

"When we find out who's behind this, I call first dibs."

John snorted. "Already called."

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Sam clenched his fist.

That was a small room to lock a kid in for days.

He'd lied to Chloe, unable to go to school after the morning he'd had. And he'd figured, he was already in trouble with his parents, so a little longer couldn't really hurt. So he'd made his way to the alley where the cat and her kittens here, and from there he'd seen the house with the police tape all around it. He'd furthered his career in crime by breaking into the place and had nearly turned and run away when he'd seen the markings on the ground of where the bodies had lain, but he pushed himself forwards.

He'd looked around the main floor first. The place was very small, cramped. He'd then checked downstairs and his stomach had went queasy at the crematorium.

The boy had then gone back upstairs and found the room under the stairs that Chloe had told him about.

He felt even sicker.

He wanted to go home.

But instead he pushed himself forwards and went upstairs, to where the bedrooms were. There were three bedrooms.

They were stripped bare.

He went through the Masters, then the guest, and then to the other.

There was nothing there to betray that anyone had ever lived there.

Sam was about to go when something sticking out from behind the closet caught his attention.

The young man went towards it and knelt down, sticking his fingers into the slot and fished it out.

It was a picture.

Of a much younger Chloe.

She looked around two or three years old, and she was smiling a ridiculously cute smile, looking up at someone not shown in the picture. The woman, whose hands were on her shoulder, was cut out of the picture as well.

Somehow, Sam knew that this picture had been taken before Chloe had come to live with these people.

The girl he knew couldn't smile like the one in the picture.

Flipping the photo over, he looked at what was written there.

_**Test subject: Chloe Ann Sullivan, Age 2 1/2.**_

_**Status: Survived initial procedure and while she flatlined once before being revived, has not shown any signs of deformity, illness, or any of the other undesired side effects developed in other survivors.**_

_**Prognostics: Favorable. Will most probably not have to be put down. WIll be kept in observation just in case.**_

He chilled.

_What_?

Sam turned and hurried down the stairs.

He needed to show this to his father.

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**Review?**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural.**

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"What do you have for me, Caleb?" John asked via skype, looking at the serious face of his long-time friend.

Hearing laughter, John craned over slightly and peered out of the window. Outside, on the lawn, Lana was riding on Sam's shoulders, squealing in delight every time she nearly lost her balance. Mary was watching with a large smile on her face while Lois and Dean bickered over the grill, which John had left in their care when Caleb had texted him to get on his skype somewhere private. Ever since the table incident nearly a week ago Lois had lost some of her anger, and although she was still more withdrawn and wary, she'd opened up somewhat-if only because she seemed to enjoy annoying and arguing with Dean. The young girl had realized that no matter how much she annoyed him he wasn't about to raise a hand to her, and she apparently enjoyed pushing the boundaries and seeing him explode.

It gave her devilish glee.

And it was amusing to see the twelve year old discover each and every one of Dean's buttons-and push them expertly.

"It's not pretty, John." Caleb announced, getting his attention once more. "It's not much, I'll warn you about that, but what I know isn't pretty at all."

John frowned.

"As you know, I still have some contacts in the Underground." Caleb looked uncomfortable, as he always did, when referring to his sordid past. "And when I started passing around pictures of the girls, especially with reference of possible experiments being performed on them, most of my contacts locked up and wouldn't answer any questions. They were terrified, and these are some bad motherfuckers."

John understood what Caleb wasn't saying.

If the person behind this scared the baddest of the bad, then he or she was on a level of evil all of his or her own.

"I got _one_ contact to tell me some stuff though. She recognized the picture of Chloe."

John looked up.

"Apparently for the last three decades there's been a big fish buying children and experimenting on them. I don't know what exactly he is trying to do, but my contact informed me that while she couldn't reveal any of her participation in the operation, that only three kids were supposed to have survived whatever was done to them."

John's heart clenched. "The girls."

"That means that whatever he was trying to do, was probably successful." Caleb nodded.

"So this isn't human trafficking?" John frowned, confused. "They weren't stolen to be bought?"

"No, they'd been bought a _long_ time ago." Caleb answered. "They were being _trained_, conditioned, for whatever it was that they were bought to do."

"Did your contact give you any clue as to what sort of experiments they conducted on them?" John wanted to know, concerned. "Or about what they were being trained for?"

"No, and she told me not to come around anymore either." Caleb shook his head. "These children are valuable to whoever it is that owns them, and I can't understand why he or she would allow them to stay in your care. You told me yourself, someone went through the house the girls were staying in and cleaned it out, and all the evidence the police bagged went 'missing' as well. So obviously the person behind this is still very much in control."

"So why hasn't he or she tried to reclaim the children?" John mused.

"My guess? He's leaving them with you for a reason." Caleb answered. "He needs them to do something, or possibly learn something. Whatever it is, it's important for the person not to find it necessary to have them in his or her grip."

"I'm assuming its a man." John decided. "Lana mentioned something about doing something for 'Grandfather' to like them."

"Could be a code name, to throw us off." Caleb shrugged. "I've located the graves of Chloe Ann Sullivan's parents, and also Lois Lane's as well. The stories their captors told them was true, and so I'm guessing that the story of Lana's parents being dead is true as well. Since we don't have a last name for her I can't verify it, of course, but why lie about her parents?"

"I can't believe that they really sold their children." John hissed.

He hadn't known these girls for long, but already he and his family were growing dangerously attached to them.

How was it that their birth parents could have been so callous and feelingless?

"The Sullivans and the Lanes both came into a _large_ sum of money soon after the girls' disappearances. Apparently Sam Lane and Moira Sullivan were siblings, and the girls were supposedly abducted from the Sullivan house during a sleepover."

John looked away from the screen.

Outside he could see Chloe sitting a little away from the others, nose deep in a book on Quantum Physics. Sam had taken the girls to the library and borrowed some books for them.

Lana borrowed a couple of fairy tale stories that Mary was having a blast introducing the child to.

Lois hadn't really been interested in anything, but had browsed.

Chloe, on the other hand, had been excited. She'd quickly left the kiddie section though, and for a moment they'd feared they'd lost her, but Sam had found her in the section dedicated to the obscure sciences. She'd been sitting in the middle of the aisle, a couple of books that looked heavier than her all around her, and she'd been intently reading a book on Genetics.

She'd finished that before they girls had gone to bed.

This one on Quantum Physics was her fifth 700+ paged book in four days.

And she was understanding what she read.

John had asked her a couple of questions and she'd explained everything in scientific terms with such a straight face he'd felt so incredibly _stupid_.

This kid-she was a genius.

"Have you tried _talking _to them?" Caleb asked. "Asking them outright about whatever happened to them? Or if they knew why they'd been taken?"

John nodded. "They clam up immediately, even Lana now is tight-lipped. It's like they're scared."

"They probably realize that they're not scotch free, that this 'grandfather' is still out there." Caleb sighed, running a hand over his head. "And they would have probably been conditioned from as long as they could remember not to reveal anything to anyone or they would get hurt."

John frowned, not liking the thought that the girls still didn't feel completely safe.

"Have you noticed anything about them?" Caleb asked, curiously.

Well, yes.

John frowned.

Lois was strong. She'd broken the table with a _kick_, and hadn't had any bruises or even limped because of it.

Chloe was incredibly smart, eating up books about atoms and neutrons and spouting out scientific terms that seemed Latin to him. Then again, it could have very well been latin. He'd over heard her offering to teach Sam it when he'd admitted to wanting to learn Latin for fun.

And Lana? Well. John really hadn't noticed anything about Lana. All he really knew about her was that she was pretty and sweet and Mary was enamored with her.

"What are you getting at, Caleb?"

The man cleared his throat. "There's only a few reasons why humans are experimented on, John."

"I disagree with that."

Caleb ignored him. "You have to understand that something was done to these children, and that no matter how cute they are, they could be _dangerous_."

John's gaze went to the window once more, watching as Sarah arrived and went to hug Sam, pressing a kiss to his lips.

Chloe, Lana (who wasn't on Sam's shoulders anymore) and Lois watched with utter fascination, obviously not sure what they were witnessing.

Sam shied away from the kiss, obviously embarrassed.

Dean snickered.

Mary just smiled, greeting the sweet girl.

Lana shook her head and began sneaking away to the large tree behind everyone.

"They might be housing some sort of virus inside of their bodies-making them some sort of biological weapons." Caleb announced.

John really wasn't listening, eyeing Lana and her suspicious behavior.

The girl looked around, making sure that everyone was watching Sam, before she looked up at the tree and raised her hands.

Her eyes bled pink.

Her hands glowed pink as well as she began to move them from side to side...

...the branches of the tree began to move in time with the movements of her hands, causing the golden and red leaves to fall down on her like fiery rain.

Lana giggled in childlike glee, beginning to dance.

John's eyes widened.

"They could be _clones_ for all we know."

Chloe and Lois had noticed Lana's actions before the others, and shared a terrified look when people began to look in Lana's direction.

Lois narrowed her eyes at Chloe.

The blonde nodded and turned to look towards the grill.

The lid slammed shut, the noise causing everyone to turn back to look towards it before fully turning to look at Lana.

Dean cursed and tried to lift the cover but it wouldn't budge.

Sam came over to help him.

They couldn't make it move.

Mary and Sarah came over to watch.

Lois had already made her way to Lana and grabbed her arm, swinging her around and dragging her to the side, hissing angrily at her.

Lana pouted, lowering her gaze, looking repentant.

Dean and Sam were stilling struggling with the grill.

Lana, head lowered, followed Lois back to where Chloe was.

The blonde was looking pale and fatigued...and slightly in pain.

Relief entered her eyes when she saw the girls at her side...and the lid of the grill suddenly was easily flung open by the boys.

Chloe wavered slightly before her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.

John stood up immediately. "I have to go!"

He never heard what it was Caleb had been saying.

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"She'll be fine." Neil announced, coming out from Chloe's room. "She just over-taxed her body and ripped some stitches."

"Over-taxed herself?" Mary frowned in worry, hand to her heart. "But we haven't let her do anything! She was sitting down reading a book outside when she just fainted."

"Then maybe she should spend some days in bed." Neil offered. "I've never seen someone heal from such major wounds as rapidly as that girl, but we must all remember that she's injured."

"This is all _my_ fault." Lana whispered before rushing away.

Lois sighed and went after her.

John waited until they were out of sight before following as well.

Sam really didn't notice though. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Make her comfortable, force her to rest." Neil smiled. "From what my nurses told me in the hospital, keeping Chloe in bed was one of the biggest problems they had. She is used to being active, but she needs to rest so that her body can fully heal."

"We'll make sure she rests." Sam nodded.

Neil smiled. "I gave her something for the pain, and it'll have her groggy for a while, probably knock her out too. But that will be for the best."

"Can I see her?" Sam asked.

"She should be left to rest." Sarah protested.

"I always tell her goodnight." Sam countered, a little annoyed, though he wasn't sure why.

Neil nodded. "Sure, go on in. But you'll have to be quick, she'll conk out at any minute."

Sam nodded, hurrying to his room to grab a bag before slipping into the room where Chloe, Lois and Lana were staying in.

Chloe was lying on the bed, looking pale and sleepy, yet annoyed. "I dunna _wrannaaaa sleep_."

He smiled at her slur. "You're going to have to, so deal with it."

She pouted at him, eyelids lowering and rising in her valiant attempts to fight her desire to sleep.

"Before you go to sleep, I got you these the other day but I keep forgetting to give them to you." Sam announced, opening the bag. "Here's an extra strong flashlight since you don't like the darkness, and this is a walkie talkie." he put them on the side table. "I have the other one in my room, so if anything happens in the night and you are scared, you can call me and I'll come check it out for you."

Chloe looked even more sleepy and confused. "You'd do that?"

"Of course, Short Fry." Sam grinned, coming over to ruffle her hair affectionately.

Chloe's face lit in surprise. "I've been told about this." She yawned. "Its a sign of _affection_, which means you _like_ me."

Sam nodded, remembering having heard about the conversation that had led to the breakdown in the kitchen some days ago. "Yeah."

She beamed up at him. "I like you too." Her eyelids closed, and she yawned. "You're so _gentle_."

Something constricted in his throat. "Sweet dreams, Chloe."

Her only answer was a soft snore.

He chuckled in fond amusement before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead, before slipping out of the room.

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**Review?**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville or Supernatural.**

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John kept to the shadows, hidden form view by the side of the house, and yet still able to see the girls and to hear the conversation they were having in his backyard.

"I don't _want_ the control anymore!" Lana whispered tearfully. "I'm just hurting people with it."

Lois tugged a little on her collar. "Lana. You just need to learn how to control it yourself without Ma to control when you can or can't use it. I know its hard, believe me, I broke the _table_ with my strength. But we _have_ to learn to control it on our own. The Winchesters aren't going to _like_ us if they know how different we are. _What_ we are."

Lana wiped at her tears. "_Why_?"

"Lana..." Lois whispered, drawing her close. "We're special, okay? You heard Ma and Pa. No one will understand us, or like us, if they knew the truth." She paused. "You like these people, right?"

"Don't you?" Lana whispered.

Lois paused, taking in a deep breath. "They're...unnaturally nice...so far."

"You like them." Lana protested.

"So what if I do?" Lois snapped, before sighing and looking up at the sky. "They don't really like us if they don't really know us, Lana. And you _know_ we can't tell them. If we tell them, Grandfather will be able to know because of the feed in our collars. And you _know_ what Ma said will happen to the people we tell."

Lana's face went pale. "They'll 'go away'."

"Just like Ma made _Pa_ go away." Lois's face was serious. "We don't want these people to go away, Lana, but they _will_. So even if they _actually_ would still like us after we tell them about us, Grandfather will only kill them."

"Isn't there a way for us to get around it? To let them know without Grandfather knowing that we let them know?" Lana pleaded. "I like them. They'll still like us. I _know_ they will."

"There's no other way, Lana." Lois whispered. "We can _never_ tell them for their own good. Okay? You have to understand. If I hadn't shut you up in the kitchen that day-and if Chloe and I hadn't kept them from seeing you today-_Lana_, you would have gotten the people you like so much _murdered_, don't you get that?"

Lana's bottom lip trembled. "But-."

"Grow _up_ Lana!" Lois snapped. "Every action you do carelessly is endangering them _and_ us! We mightn't be with Ma and Pa anymore but we _still_ belong to Grandfather, and he _will_ discipline us if he thinks we deserve it."

Lana lowered her head, clutching at her collar.

"Exactly." Lois whispered. "Lana, they're never going to get these off of us. You _know_ they're wired to kill us if removed."

Lana shivered.

"And they can send programs wirelessly to the collars any time they want." Lois was desperate to get her sister to understand this. "They could kill us from _miles_ away and no one would know. All they need is to press one button."

Lana gulped.

"So _please_, for the good of everyone, _control yourself_." Lois' hands were on Lana's shoulders. "Or we _will_ be controlled again, unable to use our powers unless they give us permission. You don't want that again, right? That electric shock that enters our bodies whenever we try to use it on our own? Or we disobey them?"

"No." Lana shook her head, sniffling. "I'll behave. I don't want _anyone_ to get hurt. Especially not because of me." "_Thank you_." Lois whispered. "Now, let's go see Chloe, okay?"

Lana nodded. "I need to apologize to her. Her body's weak and it hurt her to use her power to cover for me."

John slipped back into the house, the information buzzing in his head.

He needed to speak with Mary.

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Grandfather gazed at the pictures that'd been taken a few days ago.

All the girls were in the Winchester house, and seemed to be slowly integrating themselves into the family.

He smiled.

The Winchesters hadn't filed for right to foster the children, so they'd be surprised when tomorrow the papers arrived for them to sign.

These were the perfect people for his girls to learn from.

Until he felt they'd learnt everything they could about normal people and their lives, and how to live and mingle with them, they could stay with this small suburban family. He'd even set it up so that with the fostering, the 'government' would be paying the Winchesters a pretty penny to cover the girls 'expenses'.

After all, a Grandfather took care of his own, didn't he?

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The Master Bedroom was quiet as the four Winchesters shared looks.

Dean finally was unable to stay quiet. "So you're saying that the Chipettes were experimented on, and because of that they developed powers, and the collars are a way to keep those powers under control."

John nodded.

"And that this _Grandfather_ has control of them through a wireless feed in the collars that we can't even try to disarm or take off because its designed to _kill_ them if the collars are tampered with." Sam leaned against the bedroom door, eyes blank, arms folded over his chest.

John nodded. "That's correct."

"That _bastard_." Mary hissed, sitting down on the bed. "Those poor _children_ John! And we can't even let them know that we know because-."

"Grandfather will press the button and blow their heads off." Dean summarized with a dark scowl.

"_Dean_." Mary scolded.

"What? It's what's going to happen." Dean frowned.

John sighed. "As a family we need to decide what's going to be done."

"We can't send them away, John. We're all they have!" Mary exclaimed. "They'll get separated, and we don't know if they'll get abused. Those kids have gone through so much already to have to go through more trauma!"

"They have powers." John reminded.

"Which they're trying to control." Sam interrupted. "We're the only thing stable that they have. We can't turn our backs on them when they need us the most."

Dean made a face. "Those kids aren't dangerous, dad. Annoying, maybe, but not dangerous."

"I never thought _they_ were the dangerous ones." John amended. "Its this _Grandfather_ I'm worried about." His eyes narrowed. "You're my family, and I love you more than anything. I don't want to put you in danger."

"We'll be _fine_, John." Mary assured him.

"Yeah dad, and I'm a man now." The soon to graduate teenager announced. "So that means the only baby we really need to look out for is Samantha."

"Shut _up_ Jerk." Sam glared.

"Make me, Bitch." Dean grinned.

"_Dean_!" Mary gasped.

John slapped him up the back of his head. "_Language_."

Dean pouted. "I'm going to graduate in two months! I should be able to have some freedom!"

Everyone ignored him.

"We should put this to a vote." Mary announced. "Who has any doubts about letting them stay?"

John's hand went went.

Mary cleared her throat. "Who votes to keep the girls with us?"

Sam's hand went up.

Dean rubbed the back of his head with one hand and put up his other.

Mary smiled and put her hand up as well.

John sighed, looking between them, before smiling crookedly and putting his hand up as well.

Mary grinned brightly. "I'm going to take the girls shopping tomorrow! We have to make that room more personal for them. You three have to come with us so you can cary what we buy-of course."

The men looked terrified at the thought of going _shopping_.

Sam cleared his throat. "And also, if we see anything we shouldn't, power-wise...we're going to pretend we didn't see it, right?"

Dean nodded. "Best course of action, I think."

"Until we can catch this guy and get him to disarm the collars." John nodded. "I have Caleb trying to find out his identity. If anyone can, it's Caleb."

Mary smiled. "Okay, we'll go see about getting permission to legally be the girls' guardians...and...this is so exciting! Off to bed! Tomorrow we're going shopping!"

The boys groaned as they left the room.

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Waking up in the middle of the night, Chloe gasped, tugging at her collar somewhat, feeling claustrophobic. She didn't remember what she'd been dreaming, but she needed some air.

The girl eased out of bed slowly, trying not to disturb the two girls in the bed with her, and made her way to the window, opening it. She leaned her head out and took in a deep breath, closing her eyes as she concentrated on just breathing.

Her heart was racing, her stomach queasy, and her head was hurting her. It was a physical manifestation of what she'd felt in her dream, and she was used to this. They all were.

Opening her eyes as the symptoms began to subside into faint memories before disappearing all together, Chloe looked up at the sky with a small smile.

It was a beautiful night.

Sensing movement down below, she gazed down and froze.

There, under the large tree, bathed in the moonlight, was a man.

He looked up at her, mouth twisted in a smile, before bringing his finger to his lips in a 'shhhhh' motion.

And then he turned and walked away.

She watched him until he disappeared, the child confused and scared and...

Chloe pulled the windows closed roughly, drawing the curtains as she turned her back on them.

"_Grandfather_."

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**So thus ends this segment of the universe.**

**Not sure when the sequel will be out, but it's planned.**

**Review?**


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